


Unravelling The Past And Future

by CharitiniCS



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Daddy!Killian, F/M, Fluff, Hope Swan-Jones - Freeform, Mommy!Emma, Neverland, Neverland Renaissance, Season 3, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-29
Updated: 2019-07-20
Packaged: 2019-09-29 20:42:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 33,268
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17210600
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CharitiniCS/pseuds/CharitiniCS
Summary: When a mysterious baby appears in Neverland right after she kisses Hook, Emma’s first instinct is to believe it’s another one of Pan’s tricks. Things get a lot more complicated however, when, in a shocking turn of events, the newborn girl's parentage is discovered and Emma realizes the truth is something she would never have imagined.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello :)  
> This is my first attempt in a multi chapter fic. It's almost completed so hopefully updates will be often. It takes place right after Emma and Killian kiss and it is canon divergence from that point, even if, it could also be canon compliant since the main plot theme remains the same. The main characters are obviously Emma and Killian, but since it's in Neverland, Snowing also has a part and Regina appears, even though significantly less.  
> (Keep in mind that this is s3 Emma so you'll defintely see some walls and angst, more than my usual fluffy fics. But worry not, I'm unable to resist writing fluff, emotions and romance xD)  
> I Hope you enjoy!!!

_“As you wish.”_

 

Emma smiled at Hook’s words, bolder now that she had her back turned to him. Her mind instantly went to her favorite movie, one of the rare good memories she had from her childhood at a less terrible foster home.

 

Amongst the chaos, she realized she managed to have her own princess Buttercup moment. With a pirate of all people. Fate had a weird way of playing games.

 

She kissed Hook. She did and she didn’t even regret it. The impulse to kiss him was so strong, partly to shut him up and show him it’s not that much of a big deal as he thinks, partly because she dreamt of his mouth on hers since he used it to tie up the scarf around her hand back in the beanstalk. She just wanted to get it out of her system and move on.

 

Which ended up in total failure. Because for starters, it was a much bigger deal than she thought, her lips still tingling from his kiss. Secondly, it apparently didn’t seem to want to get out of her system, everything in her screaming to turn back, grab his head and kiss him again. She needed space. 

 

 _It’s just a kiss Emma, it’s not like you haven’t been kissed before_. A voice in her mind said. _Not like that._ The little devil on her other side replied. She shook her head as if trying to shake the thoughts away too.

 

Her hand touched her lips, her fingers trying to imitate the way his soft mouth traveled against hers. He was gentler than she thought, letting her take control. He was...

 

“Emma!” She saw David running towards her, breaking her train of thought. “Thank god I found you, is Hook with you? We have a situation going on.”

 

“What-“ Emma blinked, needing some time to remember where she was. “What kind of situation? I was coming back to the camp. Oh god, is Henry-?” If something happened to her son while she was kissing Hook she’d never forgive herself. She was gone for less than ten minutes. She got distracted and -

 

“No, Henry is okay, Emma.” David, her father, put his hand in her shoulder, trying to calm her down. “The situation is...well, it’s better if I show you.” He took the lead, half running towards their camp and Emma followed suit.

 

He was clearly in a hurry and that made her worry. If it’s not Henry who’s in danger, then it’s someone else. Something bad had happened. And she wasn’t there. What a good saviour she made.

 

The first thing she noticed when they reached their makeshift camp was Mary Margaret, breathing a sigh of relief that she was okay. So, not her mother. Not Henry. Not her father. Obviously not Hook. Then who?

 

The second thing she noticed was the bundle in her mother’s arms. Her mouth opened in a gasp. It almost looked like she was holding a... It couldn’t be. Not here.

 

“Mary Margaret? What the hell is that?”

 

“It’s a baby.” Her mother replied as if her holding a newborn baby in the middle of Neverland was the most natural sight in the world. “We just…While you were gone we went to gather some coconuts with your father to start on dinner and we kept hearing this weird sound.” She continued. “We ignored it at first, thinking it’s the lost boys or another weird trick by Pan. But it didn’t stop so we followed the sound and well.”

 

She held the baby in front of her as if to show Emma better. “We found this little sweetheart. Poor thing was crying so much. I just couldn’t leave it.”

 

Emma stared at her in shock, Mary-Margaret’s words barely registering. What kind of trick was that? As if they didn’t have enough in their plate already. A baby is the last thing she thought she’d see in Neverland.

 

Yet her mother seemed to have taken it all in a stride, cooing softly at the baby in her arms like she didn’t just find it in the jungle five minutes ago. Emma thought of the most logical explanation she could muster.

 

“How do you know it’s not a trap?” She replied, avoiding to approach the mysterious baby. “Pan is a devil and bringing a crying baby to distract us from finding Henry is definitely his type. Hell, Mary-Margaret, the baby might even be him in disguise.”

 

The infant was wrapped in a white blanket similar to the one she had and was covered so much Emma could only see a part of its head. Her mother was rocking the small bundle in her arms, looking at it almost motherly. Gods, Mary-Margaret and her soft heart for everything that breathed.

 

“Emma is right, sweetheart, we don’t know where that baby came from. It’s better if we take precautions, just in case.” David came to stand up beside Emma and she nodded at him.

 

At least she could find an ally in her father since her mother seemed too enthralled by the baby to pay attention to her warnings. Emma knew to expect the worst, to always be prepared for a fight, for an enemy, a trap. She wouldn’t fall for this, no matter what it was.

 

“She’s a baby, David. For God’s sake. Babies aren’t evil.” Emma sensed something more in her mother’s attitude. Maybe her own guilt of leaving a baby in the middle of nowhere, maybe her sorrow for barely having the chance to hold her. Maybe her wish of someone finding her child on the side of the road and treating her with motherly love.

 

It somehow seemed to be hitting close to home for Mary-Margaret and Emma was even more suspicious it might be a way to trap her. She guessed that her parents would want to have another baby in the future. Maybe Pan knew their weaknesses. Maybe that’s why he brought a baby to her mum.

 

And maybe it was a mind trick to her as well. The baby had the exact same blanket she did. Did Pan think Emma would feel the despair of growing up an orphan even more deeply if she saw her mother holding a baby who seemed to resemble her? If that was his plan, she was tougher than that.

 

 

“How do you know it’s a girl?” Emma asked trying to get as much information about the mysterious baby as possible, instead of voicing her concerns.

 

“Well, unless Hope is a boy’s name, I’m pretty sure we’re talking about a little girl. It’s on her baby blanket, like yours, Emma. ‘Hope’.”  
  
_Hope._ She felt something tugging on her heart at the sound, like she had heard the name before. She was positive she hadn’t, though. Maybe the magic of the island was messing up with her mind. She didn’t know anyone with that name, neither was any fairy tale character named Hope, to her knowledge. Yet the name was weirdly familiar.

 

“As if that isn’t sketchy.” Emma rolled her eyes, discarding her other thoughts away. Hope sounded exactly like something her mother would have chosen. “A baby named Hope appears to you in the middle of nowhere. That screams trap, Mary-Margaret.”

 

Her mother let out an exasperated sigh. “Just come look at her, Emma. She’s just a harmless infant. I know Neverland is deadly but I just can’t believe this baby has anything to do with the evil of this place.”

 

Emma cautiously approached her mother, and Mary-Margaret patted the space next to her on the log she was on, motioning for Emma to sit. She did, leaning close enough to study the baby’s face.

 

She was so small. She seemed tiny wrapped around the thick woven blanket. Her eyes were open and the deepest shade of blue she has ever seen. The color looked familiar yet unique. She had full, rosy cheeks, a small button nose and barely noticeable tuffs of light blonde hair on the top of her head. Emma had to admit she was a beautiful baby, from the kind of babies they used in commercials or movies.

 

“She’s so pretty, right?” Her mother said and she turned to her startled, realizing she was looking for longer than she intended. She was distracted, and Mary-Margaret had noticed, watching her with a smile. ”She looks like you when you were a baby.” She mentioned, giving Emma’s hand a light squeeze. And here goes why she is so emotional, Emma thought.

 

“Yeah, well. She’s cute but I still think we should be careful.” Emma hadn’t tested her superpower in babies before, (truth be told, it wasn’t often you would see a baby skipping bail) so she doubted if she could trust her instinct but she couldn’t detect traces of anything malevolent in the baby’s big, curious eyes. That wasn’t a reason enough to let down their guards though.

 

“Regina is scanning the nearby area with her magic to make sure Pan isn’t somewhere near.” David supplied and Emma nodded at him.

 

“That’s good. Let’s exclude it being a trap and then we’ll look into possibilities.”

 

Emma looked at the baby again and she felt blue eyes travel up to her. The girl’s face broke into the smile when she saw her, flailing her arms towards her as if asking Emma to take her. Which was weird because from all the people there Emma was probably the less friendly to that baby, the scowl never leaving her face, yet the baby was obviously friendly to her.

 

“Oh Emma, looks like she likes you.” The baby -Hope- continued reaching for her. “Here,” She continued, scooting closer to her. “You should try and hold her. See that she’s not evil.”

 

“Mom I don’t think that’s a goo-” She had no time to finish her phrase before her mother turned and suddenly, without warning, transferred the squirming baby to her arms.

 

Her sole experience with a baby before that was hearing Henry’s piercing cry as she was handcuffed to the hospital bed all those years ago, yearning to hold him but knowing she couldn’t. Shouldn’t. This cry still haunted her dreams, more than ten years later.

 

This time there’s no cry. The baby looks content, smiling and kicking with excitement in her arms. She doesn’t know how to hold her, not really, but she looks fine tucked in the crook of her elbow. Not that she cares or anything.

 

It’s probably still a scam but she needs the evidence for her mom to believe her. For all she knew this baby might be Pan in disguise. _She looks too sweet for that_ , another part of her brain said. But that part was usually wrong. The sentimental part of her is what brought the biggest messes in her life.

 

“So…” She addressed Mary-Margaret again, trying to ignore the baby who apparently found a game in trying to grab handfuls of her shirt with her tiny fists. “To get things straight, you found this” She looked down in her arms “...baby, here in the camp while I was away?”

 

“That’s right, Emma. While you and Hook were gone, we- “

 

“Wait, where were you and Hook anyway? I thought you were coming right behind us.” Her dad asked.

 

That was certainly not the time to broach a subject like this. Or maybe there was no right time at all to talk about this, especially with her father. “I was...” She cleared her throat trying not to sound too guilty. “Thanking him for saving you. It was the right thing to do.”

 

David nodded, seeming convinced, but Mary-Margaret was still looking at her with slight disbelief. “And where is he now?”

 

“I think we have more pressing matters than Hook’s whereabouts right now, mom.”

 

Pressing matters who were currently happily babbling in her arms. All she wanted was to find Henry. Every hour was crucial, yet they were stuck. And as if someone cursed them, literally and figuratively, they had the baby situation now too.

 

Emma was sure her mom wouldn’t settle for anything that didn’t involve returning this baby to its legal guardians. She would normally be the same but all she kept thinking is that it would slow them down and endanger Henry.

 

Her head was a mess, everything in her heart was screaming to get to her son and she didn’t think she could handle more emotional strain in one day.

 

She let her mind wander to Henry and what he would have wanted from her. She was his hero. She knew he would want her to act like one. There was no kind of heroes in Henry’s book or any other that left babies alone in the jungle. She sighed, the decision settling into her.

 

The faster they figured out where the baby was from, the faster they’d return to their real mission. If it was Pan’s trap maybe it would lead them straight to him and most importantly her son. She wasn’t confident it was the wisest decision, but it felt right somehow.

 

Emma heard footsteps approaching, breaking her thoughts.

 

“Actually, I think the pirate’s whereabouts are of utmost importance.”

 

“Regina.” She said, as a matter of fact, and the woman walked into the camp, the usual stern expression on her face as she stopped beside them.

 

“Did you find anything?” Her mother rose from her seat up abruptly, disturbing the baby who let out a few whimpers of protest. Emma tried to signal to her mother to take her back but the little girl didn’t seem to be very fond of that idea, grabbing on her shirt tighter. Emma sighed. Okay then.

 

“I can detect no trace of Pan’s magic in the nearby area where the child was found.” She said confidently and Emma instantly believed her. It was her son too who was in danger. “I doubt it is his magic trick. Which brings me to Hook’s whereabouts.”

 

“What does Hook have to do with any of this?” Emma exclaimed and she didn’t even know why she felt such a need to support Hook who wasn’t here. It felt like an eternity had passed since their kiss when in reality, it shouldn’t have been more than ten minutes.

 

“Why can’t anyone catch up on this?” Regina ran her hand through her hair, frustrated. “He is the only one who has been there before, Miss Swan. And he’s clearly not a monk.” She gestured at the baby, dismissively. “This is probably the pirate’s spawn who, being in Neverland, didn’t grow up for years, and the mother decided to finally let your boyfriend know about it. Weird way she chose, but still.”

 

“He is not my boyfriend.” Emma protested, like that was the only thing in Regina’s words that registered with her. The other woman rolled her eyes.

 

“Regina has a point, though, think about it.” David started pacing around the camp. “Why else would the baby appear directly to our group? Regina confirmed it’s not a trap and well, the rest of us have no relations to Neverland. Never been there before, even.”

 

Emma reluctantly had to admit to herself it made sense. Yet the thought made her uncomfortable. Hook had a child? Why didn’t he tell her? Why would he? They aren’t anything. Maybe he didn’t even know about it. She felt a sense of sadness settling low in her stomach. Why did she care? What she said to Regina was true. He wasn’t her boyfriend.

 

If Hook had a family, he could stay here with them. He could be happy with them. She didn’t know why this affected her so much. He was just her ally. (Her ally with whom she shared one kiss. Or make out. Whatever.)

 

She looked down at the baby in her arms.

 

It was right at that moment when she realized where she had seen this ocean blue before. Hope did have Killian’s eyes.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Firt of all, thank you SO MUCH for your amazing, heart warming comments on the first chapter. They truly mean the world to me, you have no idea.  
> I also want to thank my beautiful friend Sofia (csduckling on twitter) who was the first to ever read this fic when it was just a little drabble and encourage me to continue and eventually post it. She always read the chapters beforehand and gave me all the confidence to keep going. All my twitter friends have been nothing but wonderful and immensely supportive and I'm forever grateful. I love you all, you made my 2018 so much brighter!
> 
> I Hope you like this second chapter. Killian makes an appearence as expected, but he also makes confession that leaves Emma in awe :)
> 
> Happy New Year to everyone <3

They talked about it.

 

As much as Emma didn’t want to admit, Killian being connected to the baby was a good explanation for what was happening. She tried to recall if there were any women in Neverland from the story.  There was Tinkerbell but they met her already and Emma doubted she had anything to do with the baby. Tiger Lily. Was she real too? Or Wendy? Wasn’t she supposed to be a child? She had no idea anymore.

 

Regardless, this girl had a mother. She must be somewhere. Emma dreaded the fact that her mother might not be in Neverland. What would they do with the baby then? The baby who really seemed to refuse to let go of her anytime soon. No matter how many times she tried to pass her back to her mother she had none of it, and those were the only few times she heard the little girl cry.

 

She was looking content while she was holding her but threw a fit whenever someone else wanted to take her. She let Mary Margaret hold her just fine before, but since Emma came to view, the baby seemed transfixed to her.

 

It was certainly weird. Emma didn’t know where this was coming from, she never thought herself as a baby whisperer before, but she went with it. In their predicament, a calm baby was definitely better than a crying baby.

 

“We have to ask Hook when he comes back.” Mary Margaret said skeptically. “He’s the only one who can set a light on it.”

 

Emma didn’t really want to think the scenario of Hook not knowing who the baby’s mother was. She knew it wasn’t impossible, given the Casanova persona he often chose to sell, but she also felt like he would know better. She thought Hook was hiding a lot behind this persona. She knew. He had let her peek inside, quite a few times.

 

“We have to give him the baby and get on with it, you mean.” Regina was sharp to reply. “I’m not letting this farce slow us down anymore.”

 

As if on cue, they heard footsteps approaching from behind and Emma knew they belonged to Hook before she turned around to face him. He was walking towards the camp, wood stacked over his shoulder. She noticed he still looked kind of flushed. He had definitely waited more than five minutes and she wondered if it was just because he wanted to respect her request, or because he needed more time to collect himself. She wished she had time to collect herself as well, but it seemed like a break wasn’t in the cards for the savior.

 

“Speaking of the devil.” Regina muttered between her teeth as Killian came closer, his signature smirk forever present.

 

It was when she had a chance to look at his face again that Emma realized all cause was lost. She couldn’t look at him and not think of his lips. Or the way his hand ran through her hair. Or the way his arms around her made her feel. The unusual warmth she felt enveloping her at his sight scared her, but not more than the thought of what this could mean. She hadn’t felt like that since...She didn’t know. She didn’t know if she had felt like that before even. She was never letting herself go this far. It was her rule. And yet...

 

It was different with him. Always. From the moment they met he was seeing through her soul, her carefully guarded soul, meticulously breaking through the walls she had built with bricks of pain, disappointment, and heartache. That was what made her ran back then, but she didn’t know for how long she’d manage to run. Or how far he was willing to follow.

 

 “I brought some firewood, as requested.” He said nonchalantly, as he bent to leave the wood down, next to the place they usually lit their fire. “Any updates on Pa- “.

 

He stopped suddenly, his eyes landing on Emma like they always did and it took less than a second to move his gaze from her face to her lap where the new bundle of trouble was. His mouth opened and closed in surprise and he looked almost in awe at the image before him. An image he surely didn’t expect to see. “Swan? What are you...” He blinked rapidly trying to understand what was going on. “What did I miss?”

 

If they weren’t in Neverland, threatened by Pan and trying to save her kidnapped son the situation would be comical, Emma thought. She makes out with a guy for the first time and the next he sees of her, less than half an hour later, she’s holding a baby in her arms. Talk about rushing.

 

“While we were gone, this baby appeared to the camp, to my parents, out of nowhere.” She explained, holding his gaze. He looked taken aback still, eyeing her curiously and she couldn’t blame him. “We don’t know where it came from.” Regina gave her a hard look of disapproval and she let out an exasperated sigh. “I mean, Regina had an idea.” He looked at the brown haired woman, expecting her to continue. She didn’t want to be the one who broke this to him.

 

“So, I don’t particularly wanna know any details of your romantic endeavors in Neverland, Hook,” Regina started and Killian gave Emma a panicking look. Had she told the group about their kiss? He thought she’d want to keep it a secret. Emma shook her head quickly, hoping he understood before he had the chance to say something both of them would regret.

 

“I...We didn’t...” He tried to explain himself, scratching behind his ear nervously, clearly not having a clue of what Emma wished for him to say, but Regina raised her hand to stop him.

 

“As I said, I don’t want to know. I only want to know if this baby is yours and if it is I quite strongly advise you to do something with it quickly because it is currently standing in the way of me finding my son.”

 

 

If Killian was shocked before his expression now topped everything. His eyes were as wide as saucers and if Emma didn’t know better she’d say someone told him the sun rises from the West. “What?! Mine?” He shook his head like he couldn’t quite grasp what the woman before him was meaning. “Bloody hell, how did you even get that idea? I’ve never seen this babe in my life.”

 

 

“Hook, you’re the only one of us who’s been here before, and the baby appearing in our group can’t be a coincidence. Is there a possibility you could have left someone pregnant the last time you were here?” Mary Margaret tried to approach the issue more gently, offering Killian a sad, tight smile.

 

“What are you suggesting? Of course not.” Killian looked disturbed, even in the mere suggestion that he’d leave a woman with child and abandon her somewhere in Neverland. “Who even thought of this nonsense?” He eyed Regina. “There is no such possibility. I don’t know how this babe came to be, but the tale you made is ridiculous.”

 

Regina just rolled her eyes dismissively in return. She wasn’t convinced and Emma didn’t think anything but a negative paternity test would work for her.

 

She believed him though. He seemed honest and quite frankly he didn’t seem like the kind of man who’d leave unwanted children behind him. Sure, he was a pirate but Emma knew he had a code and his honor never wavered. She was thinking he was way too honorable, trustworthy and loyal to be a pirate, more and more lately. But maybe pirates were not just the villains of the stories she grew up with. Her life was the biggest proof fairytales weren’t always that accurate.

 

“You can’t be so certain. At this moment every piece of evidence points at you.”

 

“What evidence? Your fantasies? I _am_ certain, your majesty.” Hook spat, the use of Regina’s title clearly ironic.

 

“Yeah, because Neverland has all modern forms of contraceptives, doesn’t it?”

 

“Regina!” Snow scolded her, getting between the two attempting to bring peace back.

 

“Because last time I checked a lass can’t get with child with a simple kiss. That’s all I’ve ever done in Neverland, ever. One kiss.”

 

Emma’s head shot up in surprise. She tried not to look at him, but she felt his gaze burning. One kiss. Their kiss. Hundreds of years in Neverland and he never sought a woman’s company. Yet he kissed her. Or actually, she kissed him. But he kissed her back. And god, what a kiss that was. Hook’s admission made her warm inside and she had to try hard to suppress a smile. It was just a kiss but it felt special, somehow.

 

David who was quiet for the biggest part of the conversation spoke up. “One kiss? With whom?”

 

“I don’t think that has anything to do with the babe’s heritage, mate.” Emma breathed a sigh of relief, as he walked up to her, bending over to finally take a look at the small infant. For their luck, no one tried to press the matter further.

 

Emma held the baby out so he could see better. He smiled when his eyes met hers. “Oh, it’s a little lass.” She had no idea how he guessed, just by a simple look at her face and she made a note to add this to her mental list of impressive things she was discovering about him _. Skilled swordsman. Likes jello. Great kisser. Baby expert._

 

Hope giggled when his face came to view. “Hello, milady.” He spoke softly, in a way Emma had never heard him speak in front of others and the little girl stretched her hand as if to reach him. He experimentally touched her cheek, just a featherlight touch, and Hope’s face lit up with the biggest smile Emma had seen her offering so far. She was still holding her shirt tight and Killian smiled at the sight. Who knew Captain Hook had a soft spot for babies? (Or that babies had a soft spot for Captain Hook?). He quickly seemed to come back to reality, realizing where he was and he cleared his throat somewhat embarrassed, drawing his hand back fast.

 

“Seems like she has taken a liking in you, Swan.” Emma rolled her eyes comically. That’s what everyone was saying. She was barely even holding her. The baby just laid there in her lap, for whatever reason refusing to let her go.

 

“Her name is Hope.” She offered, and just for a moment she thought she saw a look of recognition pass briefly through Hook’s eyes. The same way the name sounded familiar to her, initially.

 

“Do you have any idea of who she is?”

 

He looked confused, like he was trying to recall something from his mind that wasn’t really there till he gave up, shaking his head. “No, love. Never heard the name before.”

 

He gave one last look at the child before standing back up, turning to the rest of the group. “She’s a beauty, but I can assure you your theory is wrong. Maybe her good looks fool you and you connected her to me but I’m afraid I have to disappoint.”

 

Emma looked between Hook and the baby again and decided to humor the pirate a bit more. “She does look like you a little. Her eyes.”

 

“It’s just blue eyes.” David replied and Emma mentally cursed herself. If she kept making comments like that she would definitely give herself away herself. Because she had stared in Hook’s eyes long enough, probably much longer than she should have, to know they weren’t just blue. She could talk about the exact shade of them or the little golden speckles that formed a tiny circle just around the iris for hours. She didn’t think “just blue” did them justice. She also didn’t think wanting to talk about Hook’s eyes for hours was normal. _Damn him, damn her, and damn that earth-shattering kiss._ That was probably what was clouding her mind. She would turn back to her usual self once the effects of it passed. Hopefully.

 

“She’s devilishly beautiful as I am devilishly handsome, Swan. Don’t you say?” Hook offered a flirty wink at her. _Damn him. Damn him, for sure._

 

“Hook!” Her father warned harshly. “You may have saved my life but I won’t hesitate to take yours if you keep this up.”

 

“You two are almost as nauseating as your parents.” Regina said looking between Emma and Hook. “But that’s not our issue now, Charming.” She was quick to add, stopping David mid-sentence and the prince sighed defeated. He knew this time she was right but still gave Hook a scary glare.

 

“This is a mess.” Mary-Margaret said, taking her seat back next to Emma. “We are back at point one. We have no idea who this baby’s family is.”

 

“Did you check to make sure Pan isn’t somehow involved in this?” Killian said, facing her.

 

“Regina used her magic to check. It’s not a trap.”

 

“Pan isn’t involved so this issue doesn’t involve us. I suggest we leave it where we found it and focus back on saving my son.”

 

“Regina!” Mary Margaret turned to her in shock. “We can’t do that. It’s an innocent baby.”

 

“Henry is also an innocent little boy. Miss Swan? Are you with me?”

 

Emma took a deep breath. Every minute without Henry felt like she was drowning, and now this. She just wished they never found this baby or gotten into this mess in the first place. But they did. What’s done is done. She looked down at the little girl, Hope. She was sucking her tiny fist in her mouth, so oblivious to the fact that her fate was being decided right at that moment.

 

Emma wasn’t confident about a lot of her assigned titles. Princess? She couldn’t feel farther from being one. Savior? Definitely wasn’t feeling like one on this island. But one thing she knew for sure. She was a mother. And she just couldn’t leave an innocent baby to die.

 

Decision been made, Emma stood up. If there was a right time to be a leader, that time was now.

 

“Henry would want us to be heroes right now. And I have faith in us. We can do both. Get this baby to her parents safely and find Henry.” Emma turned to Regina. “If someone found our son, I’d want them to take care of him and make sure he returns home. And that’s what I’m gonna do for this baby.“

 

“I’m with you, Swan.” Killian stepping to stand right beside her. “I’m far from being a hero but I’d never leave an innocent babe to die.”

 

“Your mother and I agree.” Her dad said and she looked at both of them nodding. “Definitely”. Mary Margaret added.

 

“So you want to spend our precious time being social workers to a strange baby you’ve never seen before?” Regina said like she couldn’t be more opposed to the group’s decision.

 

“I do. We’re taking her home. You can join us or not. It’s just the right thing to do.”

 

Emma didn’t know what strange place in her heart this passion was stemming from or why she was feeling the need to defend the baby more and more every passing moment. She refused to say she was getting soft. Or, by any means, attached. Wanting to keep a defenseless baby safe is what any person would do, right?

 

“This is madness.” Regina argued. “But have it your way. I still think it’s highly possible that the search will lead us to Pan. Everything on this island does. In any other case, I’m out.”

 

Emma hoped the search would somehow lead them to Pan as well. To Henry. Then maybe she’d feel less guilty for deciding to go astray from their mission. But she knew she’d feel much guiltier having chosen the alternative. This felt right somehow.

  
Hope yawned in her arms and Emma felt a strange wave of affection for the baby she barely knew. What if it was Henry? There was a mother out there, a father, or a family desperately searching for this baby. Their agony probably matched her own.

  
It was true, she didn’t feel like a savior in Neverland but saving this baby would be a hell of a good start. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading, I hope you enjoyed!  
> Emma starts warming up to the baby and both her and Killian feel a connection to little Hope, which they can't quite place. Oh, the power of true love ;) But will they still feel the same way after they learn the truth?


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for the lack of updates but January/February it was my exam period at university and it was very hard for me to post. Now that the new semester started and I actually have my schedule I can hopefully update regularly, especially on weekends. Thank you soo much for your patience and for still sticking up with the story. I'm incredibly grateful for everyone who took the time to give this a chance :)
> 
> This chapter was originally huge so I had to cut down into two. It's still big though and I hope you like it!

Emma soon realized getting the mysterious baby home was definitely easier said than done. With no information about the little girl’s ancestry, it was impossible to find where to start from.

 

In a few hours, the sun would set and darkness was making Neverland seem even more ghostly than usual. But mostly, she was dreading another night her son would be falling asleep alone, wondering where they are. Thinking of it caused her physical pain, a tightness in her chest she couldn’t get rid of. She just hoped her love could somehow reach him and keep him safe until she got to him.

 

Emma’s thoughts couldn’t stop traveling to these baby’s parents too, spending one night in agony, like every single night she spent away from Henry. No parent deserved to go through this. No matter what.

 

“Maybe we can search the baby and see if she has anything on her that can give us clues for her identity.” David suggested. “Something on her clothes maybe, in her blanket.”

 

That could be the start they were looking for. Emma took the baby’s hand that was still clutching her shirt in her own. She felt a jolt of electricity pass over her at the touch, startling her. She closed her eyes and in just a second it was gone like it was never even there in the first place.

 

 

“Swan, are you alright?” Hook looked concerned and she nodded at him.

 

 

“I’m fine.” She replied, brushing the incident away. The magic of this place was definitely starting to mess with her head. First the flashbacks, then this. Neverland was a deadly realm and she guessed the longer they stayed there, the weirder things would occur. “I just wanted to take a closer look at her clothes.”

 

 

She pushed the blanket aside to study the baby better. She was dressed warmly, too warmly for Neverland, with a long-sleeved onesie decorated with tiny yellow ducks. It was clean and seemingly new, confirming her suspicions that the baby wasn’t neglected by any means.

 

 

“This is modern clothing.” She wondered how they hadn’t noticed before. She was a bail bonds person of all things. This should have been a piece of cake. Yet something about this baby was throwing her off, clouding her judgment in ways she wasn’t used to. “If she was living here, she would wear Neverland clothes.”

 

 

“I didn’t know this hellish place had a dress code.” Regina said. “What are people even supposed to be wearing in Neverland?”

 

 

“Well, certainly not this thing.” Hook motioned to the baby, raising his eyebrow. “Though I can say this is the first tiny human I’ve encountered on the island.”

 

 

“It’s definitely not Enchanted forest clothing. She must be coming from the world without magic.” Snow looked at the baby again. “Or Storybrooke.”

 

 

“We would know if she was from Storybrooke. I mean, I’m the sheriff, you’d think I would notice a missing child report.”

 

 

If she was missing from Storybrooke, someone would have heard. Their town wasn’t that huge. And she was the sheriff. Unless she went missing after they left. Yet she wasn’t aware of any babies with that name living there.

 

Then there was the issue of the name.

 

It had been ringing bells to her from the first moment she heard it and she had no idea why. She was trying hard to recall any fairy tale character having a child named Hope in any of the movies she had watched, with no avail. Yet she knew it from somewhere, she was sure she did. It felt like a tangible thing, a memory stuck in some deserted part of her brain and she couldn’t pull it out.

 

“How old is the little lass?” Hook asked. “She looks too young.”

 

“Maybe around 3 months old?” Her mother suggested. “She seems small but not as small as Emma was when she was born.”

 

“She looks just like Emma though, doesn’t she Snow?” David was staring in awe. “Her little lips, her cheeks, her nose...”

 

“All babies that small look the same to me.” Emma interrupted before her mother had a chance to reply. She knew this was a sensitive issue for her parents and even if she found it hard to admit, for her too. She didn’t want to be reminded of her baby years, especially now. Especially in this place. It was a distraction, an emotionally heavy distraction, and they were running out of time. “So... She’s a girl. Wears modern clothes. Is around three months old. Is named Hope.”

 

“And has a baby blanket with her name on it like yours.” Snow completed.

 

“Right. If she’s indeed from Storybrooke maybe Granny made it?”

 

“Possibly.” Snow leaned towards the baby. “Don’t worry, sweetie. We’ll find your mama.”

 

Hope didn’t look too worried or upset though. Apart from the occasional whimper when Emma tried to let go of her, she was generally calm, alternating between grabbing on Emma’s shirt and sucking her fingers in her mouth. Emma was feeling a tag in her heart, stronger the more she looked at her. She was beautiful, no one could deny that. She was quiet which was a huge pro for a baby if you asked her. And she had gotten to everyone’s good graces, apart from Regina’s who still thought of her as a disturbance.

 

Maybe she was right in a way, considering the only reason they travelled to Neverland was to bring Henry home and this was throwing them off course. But Emma just didn’t have it in her heart not to help Hope. Not since she realized her presence wasn’t a trap. She could see her son in her, and sometimes she could see herself too. A child without parents was no foreign sight to her. And it was sight she had sworn never to turn a blind eye to.

 

“Mom, since you’re at it.” Emma looked at her mother still bent over Hope, smiling at her. “Can you try and take her again?” She asked. “I’m gonna get dad to show me where you found her and we’ll look for clues around.”

 

She had no idea what clues she was expecting to find. Some kind of note would be the best-case scenario. A trinket maybe. A toy. Anything that would show themwhere they should start from. Mary-Margaret looked happy at the opportunity and nodded gratefully, leaning to take the baby from Emma’s arms. She instantly wished she hadn’t. Hope started wailing, kicking and making her Intentions of refusing to switch arms very known.

 

She was squirming so much Emma almost lost hold of her. “Woah, kid. Slow down.”

“I don’t think she wants me, Emma.”

 

“She’s just being stubborn for some reason. But you’ll calm her down. I mean, you are supposed to talk to birds and all, I’m sure a baby is not a big deal.”

 

“Oh, Emma.” She laughed.“You know I don’t _really_ talk to birds, right?”

 

“Well, voice your complains at Disney.” She turned to look at Hook, remembering their earlier discussion about wax mustaches and perms. It felt like ages ago. “You might have to get in line though.”

 

“Babies sense stuff.” Mary-Margaret responded with a smile, not letting her avoid the topic at hand. “She probably senses she’ll be safer with you. You’re forming an attachment.”

 

“Mum, she probably just likes the soft material of my shirt, it’s not that deep.” Leave it to her mum to find a romantic, poetic excuse for everything. Babies are babies, not some kind of sixth sense paranormal-like creatures.

 

“Regina, you have experience with Henry. Why don’t you-“

 

Mary Margaret didn’t have time to finish before the brunette shook her head. “Don’t even think about it.”

 

Emma sighed in relief. For some reason, she felt better with that. Regina had a clear dislike for Hope since the moment he saw her and Emma thought that, despite the fact that she was clueless when it came to babies, the little girl was better off with her.

 

Yet she couldn’t go around holding this kid permanently as if she had adopted her.She couldn’t fight if the need arose. She couldn’t protect Henry or confront Pan. She couldn’t be useful.

 

Plus she didn’t want to let Hope form any kind of “ _attachment_ ”. Not that she would anyway. She has a mum. She doesn’t need to get attached to a strange lady she just met.

 

And if she didn’t have a mum at all? No matter how much she tried to push the possibility out of her head, the longer they spent without anyone searching for her, the more she thought this could be a reason why. Maybe Hope is an orphan, just like her. Her heart tightened at the thought. She was so little, so innocent. She was smiling constantly, and for some reason, Emma felt like there was nothing crueler this world could do than let a smile like that fade.

 

If she didn’t have parents, if she was growing up the way she did…It was unfair. It was so damn unfair but she knew very well this world they were living usually was.

 

“Swan,“ Hook who was watching quietly all this time spoke up. “Maybe I can try?”

 

“Really?” She gave him a curious look. He wasn’t against the baby like Regina, on the contrary, he seemed to be to liking her presence, but Emma never thought he’d want to hold her. So full of surprises, Killian Jones. “You want to?”

 

“I want to help.” He always did, didn’t he? He sat down near her and his expression was genuine and warm, as he was looking from her to the baby. Emma noticed him eyeing his hook for a moment, a frown clouding his features. He clearly didn’t want to scare the little lass. He was too late in his attempt to hide it behind his back though, little eyes going wide and Killian’s mouth opening in surprise when the baby stretched her arm to take hold of his metal appendage.

 

“Look at that.” Emma said unfazed by his own shock. “Someone else she apparently likes.”

 

“No, little lass.” Hook cooed, trying to pry her fingers away from his hook gently. “That’s dangerous for you.” Hope whined audibly and tightened her hold, too stubborn to let go. Emma noticed she was pulling in attempts to get the hook into her mouth and Killian looked terrified at the prospect. “Please, darling. Let go.”

 

“Hook...” Emma whispered and he turned to face her. He could see the fear in his eyes. The doubt. How would someone so pure want to touch ...a weapon like this. A murderous weapon. It was so wrong but she made it feel normal. “Let her.”

 

“She’ll hurt herself, Swan.”

 

Emma shook her head and instead of an answer, maneuvered the baby experimentally in the cradle of his arms. She knew she wouldn’t be hurt, she trusted Killian with his hook more than the average person, but she was waiting for the meltdown that usually followed when she let go of her. It never came. “She’s fine.”

 

Hope was still holding on the hook and the pirate was looking at her mesmerized. Emma didn’t know if it was because she was holding his metal appendage like it was her most favorite toy or because of the way she was smiling up at him.

 

He was in awe. He grinned adorably when her hand let go of the hook to pat on his stubbled cheek. “That’s a good lass.”

 

At least Hope got an upgrade to a much more enthusiastic human carrier than her, Emma thought. The only thing she was doing as she held her was to make sure she doesn’t fall. Which that was quite the challenging task, if you asked her, at least for someone who had never held a baby before.

 

Seeing Hook with a baby...It was stupid but it made her heart do things. Things her heart shouldn’t do. Like, ever. She didn’t want a baby. She didn’t want Hook either. It was a normal thing, right? She never denied Hook is hot, or that the baby is cute. They look good together. It doesn’t mean she feels something for …any of this. She’s sure she’d read somewhere men look more attractive holding babies. Until now she thought it was totally stupid. Damn this situation, this is the last thing she should be thinking about.

 

“I think she’s overheating.” Hook interrupted her thoughts as he touched Hope’s hand which was still at his cheek.

 

“She’s having a fever, you mean?” Well, she guessed she should give a mental thanks to the universe for giving her something else to think about. Damn it. Hope didn’t look sick though. Neverland is a very warm realm so maybe she was just hot.

 

“I’m not sure, love.” He replied, eyeing the baby curiously. “She just feels warm to the touch, I realized when she put her hand on my cheek.”

 

“We don’t have a thermometer handy.”

 

“Kiss her forehead or the inside of her wrist.” Snow supplied. “You’ll understand if she’s unnaturally warm. It’s not as precise, but it’s fairly accurate, trust me.” To the surprised looks she received, Snow just shrugged. “Cursed memories. A teacher should know when a kid is truly sick or faking it.”

 

“Great. Now we are also a hospital, apart from a day-care.” Regina gritted between her teeth, not really interested to offer her input in the situation that didn’t concern her.

 

_Well_ , _there_ _it_ _goes_ , Emma thought. Her mother was looking at her patiently and the “I almost had an electric shock when I touched her hand earlier” didn’t look like a good excuse to avoid the task at hand. Neither did the “being affectionate with children only makes me feel guiltier about Henry”.

 

Not wanting to raise any questions she wouldn’t have an answer to, she leaned towards Hope, who was still resting in Hook’s arms and pressed her lips gently on her forehead. It was just a second, but her lips started tingling and a sense of déjà vu washed over her making her pull back in shock.

 

Her mind was playing games once more. She had dreamt of kissing Henry after he was born so many times, hold him, cradle his head, shower him with kisses and just…keep him. She can’t even remember all the times she woke up from a dream like that, crying in her pillow for hours when she realized it wasn’t real. She never kissed a baby or held one and this dream was coming back to haunt her now. There was no other explanation.

 

“So, love?” Killian asked and she suddenly remembered she was supposed to be checking for signs of fever. “How did she feel?”

 

Feel? Oh. The temperature.

 

“I…I’m not sure. I don’t think I’m the right person for it.”

 

“Oh, let me try.” Snow offered, convinced by her inexperience. The next moments passed in a blur, Emma faintly hearing her mother deeming the baby to be healthy, just warm from her heavy clothes.

 

“This is way too much for Neverland. And she was wrapped around the blanket too.” Her mother stated. “The sun is still out, she must be sweating. Hook, can you check to see if she’s wearing anything underneath?”

 

Killian used his hook to carefully pull the first one of the snap buttons of her onesie apart. “Aye, she wears a lighter undergarment.”

 

Emma thought of how unlucky this poor baby was. If she had her parents, they’d probably know how to dress her, know when she’s warm or cold. With them, she was overheating for hours without anyone noticing. She was holding her and she didn’t notice.

 

“Take her for a moment, will you, Swan?” Hook asked and when she did he immediately stood up and starting taking off his coat. Emma didn’t really understand what he was going to do until he put the heavy leather coat to the ground, stretching it like a sheet.

 

“You can place her here to undress her.” He said, scratching behind his ear. “It’s not ideal but it can’t be worse than the ground. It’s quite soft too.”

 

_Don’t_ _I_ _know_ _it_? Emma wanted to say. She had grabbed his coat for balance when she crashed her mouth to his. It was soft indeed, but not possibly as much as his lips.

 

He was being thoughtful and caring, so caring Emma was barely resisting grabbing the lapels of his coat again. She missed the taste of his lips. She missed the way he made her feel, like everything was alright, even for just a few seconds.

 

“Good idea, Killian.” Since when was she calling him Killian? She realized she had been calling him that in her head more and more often, this involuntarily slip of the tongue the biggest proof of it. She didn’t fail to notice his smile when he heard his given name leaving her lips and she looked down to avoid his eyes as well as her parents’ as if she had said something dirty.

 

Emma placed Hope down on the coat, which smelled way too much of leather, sea, and Killian for her mind to function properly. The baby lied there without a fuss, waving her little arms excitedly towards them.

 

Maybe the smell of Killian was comforting for her too. Emma didn’t know when in the roller coaster that was the last months of their lives the smell of Killian became a source of comfort for her. And she didn’t know when she became bold enough to admit it to herself.

 

Was it just now, after their kiss, was it when he decided to risk everything going back in the place of his worst nightmares to get her son back or was it when they met, when he gently tied his scarf around her injured palm, the same scarf she refused to discard and is now carefully stored in her locked drawer at the station?

 

Realizing these thoughts would get her nowhere, she decided she’d much rather help Mary Margaret maneuver Hope’s arms and legs out of the duckling onesie pajamas. It wasn’t ideal but it was better than the dangerous places her mind was wandering.

 

Hope manifested her grumpy self quite strongly once she realized her favorite hook was out of view, so Killian sat behind her, per Snow’s request, giving her the appendage to hold as she was being taken out of her warm clothes.

 

“You’re all set now, little miss.” Snow cooed as Hope was squirming around, in nothing but the pale pink sleeveless onesie she was wearing underneath. Killian carefully folded the discarded garment Emma had carelessly dropped next to her and put it over her blanket. By the state his ship was in, she shouldn’t be surprised he was a neat freak.

 

Snow turned Hope around so she could rest on her tummy and Emma was surprised to see she could easily lift her head and hold it up, handing out gummy smiles to all of them. “If the temperature drops at night, we’ll dress you again.” She looked even tinier this way, her bare arms and legs much smaller than Emma’s wrist.

 

“Or maybe at night, she will be back to her family.” Emma corrected, hoping with all that she had that she was right. She had to have a family. She didn’t deserve to grow up an orphan, holding onto her blanket like it’s the most precious treasure just like she did. Plus, they had to turn their full focus back to Henry. She knew rushed moves would get them nowhere. They needed a plan and once they had it, nothing was holding them back.

 

“You can keep on with your babysitting,” Regina said as if on cue. “While I actually go and do something useful, like tracing more areas for Pan’s magic till I locate him. If you, your parents and the pirate want to play Martha Stewart, be my guest.”

 

“Regina, wait!” David yelled out but she just dismissed him with a motion of her hand, already walking away. Emma didn’t blame her. If she wanted to go, she could, and she would indeed be more useful with her magic than with the actual investigation. Maybe she could help give them a head start.

 

And speaking of head start… “Perhaps now that the baby forgot about me, you guys can finally show me where you found her so we can look for clues.”

 

Mary-Margaret and David nodded at the same time. “Should one of us stay with Hook?”

 

Emma turned to him raising her eyebrow. “Hook? Are you gonna be okay looking over her for ten minutes?”

 

“Of course, love.” He winked. “I learned the trick now. Give her the hook if she’s fussy. Your Majesties can go.”

 

Emma chuckled. “You got this. We’ll be right back.”

 

It hadn’t been two full minutes since they left, Killian showing Hope leaves and flowers around the clearing to keep her entertained, -her laugh was truly making him lighter than he had felt in years-, when in a whoosh of magic Peter Pan appeared right in front of them.

 

He was alone, which Killian thought as a good sign. If he wanted a fight, he’d bring some of his lost boys along.

 

Still he rushed to scoop Hope in his arms, kicking his coat on the ground away making space in case he did attack. It was much harder to pick her up alone, given the hook and lack of experience, but in the urgency of the situation didn’t give him time to doubt himself.

 

“Pan.” He said warily. “What the hell are you doing here?”

 

“Is that a way to treat an old friend?” Pan asked, stepping closer. “And to think I came here to help. I was actually waiting to talk to you without the heroes snooping around. They always seem to be messing things up for us, don’t they?”

 

“Help?” Killian raised his eyebrow. “The only thing you can do to help is to tell Henry’s family where you’re keeping him.”

 

Pan scoffed at his answer. “Those hero types really have ruined you, huh? Regardless, I have a deal for you Captain.” He continued, his demonic smile giving Killian chills. “A deal you can’t possibly refuse.”

 

“I’m not making any deals with you.” Hook took a step back. He could sense the demon’s presence was unsettling Hope. He tried to shield her from his view, holding her tight against his chest.

 

“This one will make you reconsider. It’s about Emma Swan.”

 

_Emma_. He would hurt Emma. He could blackmail him with her. “Leave Emma alone.” He spat. “Don’t even utter her name. You’re not bloody worthy.”

 

“The thing isn’t about me being worthy, Killian.” The use of his given name was unsettling him more. He was the last person he wanted to hear it from. Pan treated him like he was some kind of an old mate. “It’s about you, proving yourself worthy to her.”

 

“What the hell do you want?”

 

“What if I told you, you could be the one who brings back Henry to her? You could be her hero if you only accepted my deal.”

 

Hook looked at him in shock. He wanted something in exchange for Henry. “Are you truly willing to get Henry back to Emma?”

 

“Of course I am.” He said as a matter of fact. “If you fulfill your end of the deal.”

 

“I’m listening.”

 

Pan laughed, seeing as he had fully gotten the pirate’s attention now.

 

He would do it. He knew Emma’s heart was breaking more and more every second that passed without her son and if he could reunite him with her...He would give his life. Dying for Emma Swan was a good way to go. He knew this, the moment he decided to come back to this hellish place. It was for her. Everything was for her. And if it came to that, he’d save Emma and her boy. He’d pick them over himself without a doubt. He was even more certain after their kiss. He was in love with her. If the last thing he saw was Emma’s smile as she held Henry in her arms again, he’d die a happy man.

 

“Henry was really valuable to me, once upon a time.” He started. “Until something better came up and I changed my plans. I realized that if I had this, I could let him go. I need you to get it for me. Actually, it isn’t even this hard.”

 

“What is it?”

 

“This.” He replied nonchalantly as he motioned to the baby in his arms. “This baby is just an inconvenience to you. But to me, to this place, she’s precious.”

 

Killian felt the blood drain from his face. _Hope_. The innocent infant he felt connected to since the first moment. The little girl Emma promised to get home. The same little girl who a couple of minutes ago was giggling uncontrollably to his plant presentations. How could he possibly do that? He could do anything, anything but that.

 

“What do you want with her?”

 

He would kill her. Whatever plan he had, it would end up with Hope dead, he saw it in his eyes.

 

“That’s none of your business. I assure you, once you go back with Henry, no one will even notice this one is missing.” He added with a grin. “You will have saved the day and your pretty savior will owe you for rescuing her son. Remember what happened after you saved her father?”

 

He was playing with his mind. He was used to that. It was what Pan did. Feeding on their insecurities, twisting their desires. The kiss he and Emma shared was sacred for him and the fact that Pan knew enough to use it against him made him sick.

 

“So What will it be?” Pan asked, tapping the tree trunk beside him with his finger impatiently. “The longer you take to reply, the worst things get for dear Henry.”

 

The more he looked at him the more Killian felt the need to punch him. He had the upper hand and he knew it. He had Henry, and with him as a captive, he could manipulate all of them. But he knew he would never trade Hope. He might be a villain, he might have done horrible things but this was way too much, even for him.

 

“Hmmm, your hesitation does disappoint me. Maybe I should have made this offer to Neal. He wouldn’t turn down the opportunity to reunite his family.”

 

“What are you on about, Pan? Neal is dead.”

 

“Oh but he’s alive. He’s in Neverland.” At his surprise, he laughed. “Did I not mention that? My bad. Well, you can still keep this information to yourself and accept my deal.”

 

Neal was alive. He was there. He felt his head pounding at the new turn of events. It

was a factor none of them had imagined. Killian was happy for Henry, for Emma. He remembered the pained look on her face when she lost him. Or thought she lost him, apparently. And the lad deserves his father and a real family.

 

He knew that the possibility of whatever it was that had starting building between him and Emma flourishing after Neal’s return were slim. But he didn’t intend to build anything over Baelfire’s grave in the first place. If Emma picked him, it would be because she wanted him. He’d never be dishonest with her, or selfish. Maybe he’s a selfish man, but not with her. Never with her.

 

Bae deserved a fair chance too and he deserved to get to know his son as much as any father did.

 

“So, what will it be, Captain? Will you pass this nuisance over to me?”

 

Killian stayed silent, buying time, thinking of a way to handle Pan, a way that could have him reveal Henry’s whereabouts, or even Neal’s, without actually letting him come any close to Hope.

 

But he did. Pan took a curious step towards them, erasing the distance Killian had carefully maintained.

 

And that’s when it happened.

 

Before Killian could even reach for his cutlass, a blast of white light hit Pan in the chest, making him fall back in pain. It was blinding, and Killian blinked rapidly trying to gain his vision back. That was magic. But despite his usual experience with magic -and aversion to it-, he knew this wouldn’t hurt him. It felt more like warmth and protection than anything menacing.

 

Light magic. Light magic strong enough to hurt someone like Pan.

 

He had only witnessed this one more time, at lake Nostos when Cora tried to take Emma’s heart. Emma thought he was unconscious but he saw it all. How she told the witch that love is strength, how she sent her tumbling back, her magic too powerful even for an experienced sorceress like her. Perhaps one day he’ll tell Emma how he pretended to faint because he couldn’t fight her anymore, because he was unable to hurt her, even then. But now...He turned back, expecting to see his Swan but there was no one there. Not her, or Regina.

 

Then who...A loud cry pierced his ears. Hope. Bloody hell. Hope had magic. That’s what Pan wanted from her. He wanted to use her, drain her magic. He wanted her more than Henry. She had powerful magic, so powerful it was scaring her little heart. Her cry was one he hadn’t ever heard before. It wasn’t a cry of distress but one of terror. Killian didn’t know if he should comfort her or confront Pan before he had the chance to escape but he couldn’t ignore the thousand knives he was feeling piercing his heart at Hope’s screaming.

 

“Hush sweetheart, it’s okay.” He whispered. “You’re fine.” Pan was just regaining his consciousness when Killian heard footsteps from behind.

 

Running frantically towards them was Emma, a look of dread in her face as Hope’s cries echoed in the clearing, becoming deafening.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Hope has magic! I wonder where this is coming from hehe.  
> Thank you so much for reading :) I hope you enjoyed it. I know things progress slow but a big reveal is happening next chapter and I can’t wait to post it. As I can’t wait for the chapters AFTER the reveal. It’s a whole different dynamic between those three and I’m very eager to share.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A lot happens in this chapter and I am a little nervous about it. I usually write pure fluff so this is somewhat new territory for me. I hope you like it :) as this story progresses and stuff are getting resolved you’ll see more and more romantic/emotional/fluffy moments!

Emma heard the screaming, what seemed like Hope’s terrifying pleas for help and she started running as fast as her legs could take her. Whatever she was expecting to find though, it wasn’t Pan lying on the ground, with Killian standing just a few steps behind holding Hope. They seemed unharmed but then again, from the few hours she knew this baby, she definitely didn’t seem like a screamer so something must have gone terribly wrong.

 

“Swan.” He looked relieved to see her and frankly, she was as well.

 

“Killian, what happened? Did he attack you? Why is Hope screaming? Did he hurt her? Did you knock him out?” Emma was frantic, but her voice was barely audible over the baby’s crying.

 

“It wasn’t me, Swan.” He was still in shock, words hardly coming out. “I didn’t knock him out.”

 

He looked fine physically but Hope sounded painfully distressed and Emma lowered her cutlass to go closer, checking for injuries. She would have run Pan through with a sword right at that moment if she didn’t know Henry’s safety depended mainly on him. God knows what the lost boys could do if they realized she harmed him.

 

“Hope, you’re okay. Hey,” She said, looking down at her. “You’re okay. Don’t be scared, he can’t hurt you.”

 

Killian wanted to tell her that she wasn’t scared of him, that this tiny little thing flew him to the ground in seconds, but the words simply wouldn’t come.

 

“Let me take her.” Her suggestion surprised Killian, but he knew despite Emma’s hard demeanor, the baby’s cries were affecting her as well. She had a soft heart, his Swan, and situations like these were bringing it to the surface, even if she would never admit it. Hell, she’d probably smack him if he ever brought it up. But he knew better.

 

Killian simply nodded, passing Hope’s tiny body to her and Emma, instead of holding her in her arms as she had done till then, immediately snuggled her on her chest, Hope’s head neatly tucked against her shoulder.

 

“Don’t cry, kid, okay? You’re good. I promise.” Her voice was gentle, the motions of her arms soothing Hope more than anything else could and Killian needed a few seconds to realize where they were. In the jungle. With Pan next to them. With a baby they barely knew. His blasted brain was taking him to places, places beautiful but undoubtedly dangerous, places he should never go. He blamed the kiss and his still foggy brain after it.

 

One thing he could say for sure. Had Emma kept her lad, she’d have made a wonderful mother from the start.

 

“She…she stopped.” Emma whispered, surprised by her own statement. Hope had indeed stopped wailing, now only quietly sniffling against her neck. She didn’t know what possessed her to cuddle her into her arms like this, she only knew her heart was hurting more every second that passed and she didn’t. She felt a pull of energy, weirdly similar to the pull she was feeling every time her magic made an appearance. Which was strange and inexplicable and apparently caused Hook to look at her like she had just discovered the eighth wonder of the world or something but at least it made Hope’s tears stop.

 

She barely knew what she was doing, her hand moving to cradle her head almost automatically, little puffs of air on her neck giving her goosebumps. She wasn’t Regina, but she could sense magic in this area, a magic that was awakening her own, even if she had no control over it.

 

“Did Pan use magic? Did he attack you with it?

 

“No. He…I need to talk to you, love. I need to-“ He tried to explain but Pan stood up abruptly, the magic’s effect slowly passing. It had barely been a minute and Emma blamed herself for not doing anything, for not tying him up while he was still unconscious. She was distracted, too distracted and if he left without telling them about Henry it would absolutely be her fault.

 

Killian must have noticed the look of regret in her face, reading her like always. “He would have escaped anyway, Swan. You can’t capture him with anything but magic, and only the too powerful kind.”

 

“Lovely for the savior to join us.” Pan stretched nonchalantly, like what happened hadn’t affected him in th slightest but Killian could see how wary he was of the baby now. He seemed afraid to come closer when a while ago he was mercilessly taunting him.

 

“What do you want here? Where is Henry?”

 

Emma took some careful steps back, holding Hope tighter and Killian stood on her side, hand wrapped around his sword’s handle and hook positioned right under her own arm over Hope’s back. Their closeness would unsettle her, -in more ways than one- if it wasn’t for the urgency of the situation.

 

“You say I am the demon but this one blew  our ears off with her screaming. Thankfully it stopped.” He said, eyeing Emma holding the baby.

 

“You were unconscious.” Hook said.  
  


Pan laughed in reply. “This could wake up the dead. Emma made it all okay again, though, apparently.”

 

“What do you want? Did you bring the baby here? What, to distract us? Who is she?”

 

“Me? Oh no.” He laughed. “But are you complaining, Emma? You seem to be getting along well together. Maybe you should keep her around.”

 

“Where is Henry?” She asked again, the question which was burning in her mind constantly from the moment her son was taken.

 

“Since it was brought up, why do you think the baby is so transfixed by you, Emma?” Pan taunted, ignoring her question. He clearly hadn’t come here to talk about Henry.

 

“I don’t know.” Emma gave him a hard look. “And I don’t care. All I care is returning her to her family and finding my son.”

 

“Oh, but you do care, Emma Swan.” Pan took a step forward and Emma moved Hope’s weight to one arm, using the other to draw her cutlass, the one Hook had given her, from her belt. This made him laugh dryly. He looked like a kid, even sounded like one sometimes but he was anything but that which made the situation even more disturbing. Henry was a kid. This person before her was a demon. Hook had warned them about him but each encounter made Emma even more convinced every single second her son spent with him was dangerous.

 

“No need to be scared of me.” Pan said, eyeing her sword. “I’m not here to hurt you. Actually, I came to help but...” He gave Hook a disapproving look. Hook knew he was disappointed he didn’t accept his deal. He sensed that he wanted Hope almost as much as Emma wanted Henry, even if for vastly different reasons. He needed them as much as they did him. “The thing is, I don’t even know who brought the baby here but you are all so entertaining I probably have to thank them personally.” He leaned closer to Emma, almost whispering the next words. “Also, the longer you bother with it, the longer I stay and bond with dear Henry.”

 

He was trying to provoke her. Emma knew yet she couldn’t stop her blood from boiling.

 

“Where are you keeping him? What do you want from him?”

 

Pan laughed again, a humorless laugh that made Emma’s hair stand on end. “You’re funny Emma. You only ask questions. That’s not how it works here.”

 

“Stop taunting her, you bloody demon” Hook shouted, and it looked like he was contemplating fighting him with his bare hand...and hook. Emma raised her arm, stopping him from interfering. For once Hope was there and she had already been traumatized enough to last a lifetime. And then...she wouldn’t have him in danger’s way. Not him too. Not now. Whatever business he might have had with Pan before, this quarrel was hers and hers alone. “Hook, I’ve got this.”

 

“Don’t be so aggressive, Captain.” Pan turned to him, ignoring Emma’s comment. He couldn’t pass up the chance of toying with yet another person. “Your villainous nature is showing. Aren’t you scared Emma is gonna see you for the man you really, are?”

 

“I’m not playing your game!” Emma shrieked at him before Killian had the chance to reply. He was using her against Hook. He was messing up with their minds, trying to get a reaction out of them and avoid giving clear answers. That was his tactic. And she wouldn’t fall for it. “Just tell me where you hold Henry.”

 

“That would be no fun. But you know what would be fun, after all? Telling you who’s the mother of this baby you found.” He put his hand on his chin pretending to be considering it. “Yeah, that would be hilarious to watch. I might actually not even ask for anything in return. Aren’t I nice? I’ll just enjoy the repercussions of spreading this information.”

 

“Just tell us, Pan.”

 

“See, Emma still hasn’t replied to my question. Why did the baby settle for you, Emma?”

 

“I told you. I. Don’t. Know.” She spat every word at him, angry and frustrated. She didn’t know the answer to his stupid question and she didn’t think it was even important for their task at hand. It seemed like Pan only wanted to make them lose more time than they already had. He took a step back, looking at her from head to toe.

 

“You have to answer, Emma. Come on, it’s not hard.” He prompted. “From the moment the baby appeared on this island, I could sense the magic flooding the place. Magic like Neverland has centuries to see. I thought it was the savior but then it wasn’t hard to put two and two together.” Emma felt like he was talking to himself more than anyone else but just then He turned towards her. “You aren’t even that trained in magic after all. She has had more training in her few months of living. She’s powerful. Her magic is.”

 

Emma sensed something more in his words. Fear. But why? Why would he fear a baby? He talked about magic.

 

“Magic? What kind of magic? You mean she-”

 

“I’m afraid that would give everything away, Emma. It would ruin the game.”

 

“Let’s go back.” Emma let out a frustrated sigh. “I’m done with him. He knows nothing. He’s wasting our time just to laugh at us after.” Emma knew he’d never tell them where he kept Henry either but they didn’t really count on him to say anyway. More like take him by surprise and defeat him right in his own element till he had no choice other than surrender.

 

She turned her back at him and started walking away gesturing for Hook to do the same.

 

“All scowls, anger, never playing fair. Emma, you really are no fun at all. Look at this smiley little thing though.” He paced around Hook, eyeing Hope and the pirate instantly shielded the baby from his view. “This time the apple fell quite far from the tree, I guess.” He continued in a whisper, not loud enough for Emma to hear but Hook, who was already turning back to follow Emma froze at his feet. Magic. Emma. Now this. It couldn’t be...

 

“Wait.” He said, his voice colder than he intended, realization dawning on him. “Swan. Wait.”

 

“Oh, seems like the Captain is cleverer than I thought.”

 

Emma stopped at her tracks and turned to face him. “Hook, we have to go.” They had to go. Away from him. Take Hope away from him. Take Henry away from him. Get on this damn ship and go.

 

“Emma.”

 

He rarely called her that. It was “Swan” usually, it was “love” sometimes, Emma’s secret favorite that was making an appearance more and more often as time went by. But it was never Emma. Unless something serious was happening. Unless they were in danger.

 

“Emma, the baby settled for you because of her magic.”

 

“Her magic?”

 

“Magic strong enough to send this demon tumble back unconscious.”

 

“You mean she did that?” Emma replied shocked. “What the heck.”

 

“Aye. Emma, you have to listen to me, love, okay?” He chose every word carefully. “The reason she wanted to be in your arms from the start is that…you remind her of her mother.”

 

“Oh, she looks so much like her mother, Hook. You’re right for once.”

 

“What, the baby’s mother is blonde?” Emma turned to Pan. “No shit Sherlock, the baby is blonde as well.”

 

“Emma...” She heard her mother’s voice from behind her. When had her parents arrived? She didn’t even have time to notify them when she ran to Hook and Hope. She was frantic. They must have followed after her at some point. They must have heard it too. The crying. The shouts. She turned around and just as she thought she was greeted by her parents, looking as she did, if not more. How long were they there? How much had they heard?

 

Apparently too much, because her mother looked at Hook, some sort of understanding passing between them and he nodded at her before she spoke. “I’m not sure that’s what he means. What Hook means.”

 

“Then what does he mean? “

 

“Emma, I think…I mean, I don’t think but…” Mary-Margaret had suspicions. She had them since she noticed the blanket. Just the same as Emma’s. It couldn’t be a coincidence. Yet it seemed too crazy. Till it wasn’t anymore. “You don’t look like her mother, you are her mother.”

 

That wasn’t possible. It wasn’t. Pan was messing with them again.

 

“Bingo.” Pan clapped ironically but Emma couldn’t hear him. She couldn’t hear anything but a buzzing sound in her ears, in her head, her legs so close to giving out. “It was fun chatting but I have to go back to Henry. I can’t leave my guest of honor alone now, can I?”

 

With that, he vanished.

                                                —————————

It was impossible. That’s all she could think of. Impossible. She wanted to run but her body wouldn’t cooperate, her heart beating so fast she would swear she heard it in her chest.

 

“Emma.” Her dad put her hand on her shoulder, and Emma involuntarily flinched, scaring him away. “I know what you’re thinking, but that’s not impossible. Time travel isn’t unheard of here.”

 

“Wait, you believe that too? Time travel? How do you think a baby would make the decision to time travel?”

 

“It’s not always a decision.” Mary-Margaret replied. “We can’t know unless we find out how she traveled.”

 

Emma ran her hand through her hair. “We think of that because Pan said it? All he’s done since we came here was trying to throw us off course and we’ll believe him now?” She was grasping at straws, she knew, desperate to find anything she could to convince everyone that this was nonsense, herself included.

 

Mostly herself.

 

“Swan, I don’t trust that manipulative demon either.” Hook said softly. “But you should have seen her magic. It was like yours, I was convinced it was you who cast the spell and-“

 

“From what you’ve said, it’s just light magic, Hook.” She replied in a sharp tone that made him look at the ground. She could see the use of his moniker hurt him, especially since she had called him Killian just a few minutes before. She knew she was backtracking, she knew this mess wasn’t his fault, or her father's or anyone’s but she couldn’t think straight. “I’m not the only one who possesses it.”

 

She was aware of their arguments. They were many and the odds weren’t in her favor. _Wherever_ _there’s_ _smoke_ , _there’s_ _fire_ _too_. That’s what she always said whenever something about a skip threw her off course. All these coincidences...Her mind was screaming for her to deny it, everything in her did and then there was this feeling deep in her gut that was telling her they were right.

 

She didn’t want them to be right. She wanted Henry, to get him back, hold him in her arms until all her broken pieces stuck back together and then leave with him. She wanted home, wherever that was. Somewhere far and safe and without magical babies, demons and time travel.

 

This wasn’t for her. To learn to be a mother from scratch at twenty-eight, to her ten-year-old son whom she never met but loved so much already, was one thing. But this? A baby she never wanted, she never loved, she never even remembered carrying? A baby she had sworn she’d never have when she had to give Henry up?

 

She knew back then she would never make a family with that piece of her heart, her son, missing. Granted, much stuff about her life had changed since then. She had Henry back now, her parents, as well as a steady job but...Would her opinion about family change too? It seemed too much. Too soon.

 

If this was true, if this was _her_ child, it had to be a mistake.

 

Before this thought even had time to settle in her mind, she regretted it. _Mistake_. Henry was unplanned but she was seeing him now, the amazing boy that he was and cringed at the thought of considering him a mistake. Mistakes are the things you regret and she never, not once, regretted having him. She didn’t know if her future self -god what was her life now- would regret that child. But she doubted it.

 

“Pan offered me a deal.” Hook’s voice interrupted her train of thoughts. She knew he was talking to the whole group but he was looking at her. “He said he’d free Henry if I gave him Hope. He said he wanted her, she was useful for Neverland.”

 

“The savior’s daughter...” Her father whispered as if every piece of the puzzle was clicking together in his brain.

 

“I think she’s powerful. Too powerful for her own good. That’s why Pan wants her, more than he possibly wants Henry, love.”

 

“Pan said magic flooded Neverland when she arrived, remember? He said he thought it was ‘the savior’ but it wasn’t. It was Hope.” It was her mother’s time to talk.

 

“There’s something else too.”

 

Hook looked hesitant and fear flooded Emma. What more could happen? Her life had already been turned upside down in the last few minutes and her son was still missing.

 

“What?”

 

“Baelfire...I mean, Neal.” He corrected himself, remembering the name he went around with in Emma’s realm. “He’s alive.”

 

She heard her parents gasp. That couldn’t be true. He died. He was almost dead when she last saw him, the portal sucking him in. He couldn’t have survived that, could he? She told him she loved him, thinking he was dying and now...

 

“He’s ...what? Hook, I saw him die. I saw him going into that portal, gravely injured. I said goodbye.”

 

“Apparently, he survived. Pan told me. I don’t have your superpower, Swan,” He gave her a soft smile, one she couldn’t return. “but I know how to read him. He revealed it to make the situation even more difficult. He wanted to test me. See if I would keep it a secret along with the deal he proposed to me.”

 

“You didn’t.”

 

“I’d never, Swan. Not in the expense of you, Henry and now the little one.”

 

Wait.

 

What did the baby have to do with Neal being alive? Did they think...?

 

“Honey, that clears things up even more. Hope is yours and Neal’s daughter from the future.”

 

God. Of course that’s what everyone thought. As far as she knew till two seconds ago, Neal was dead but even if he wasn’t, she had never considered being with him again. Even when they told her the baby was hers, it never passed her mind that she and Neal could ever reconcile in that way. Not until now. Not until the living proof of that reconciliation, at least according to her parents and Hook was just sitting next to her.

 

She knew what her parents believed, but the thought of Hook thinking she and Neal....it angered her and she had no idea why. She didn’t want him to assume she went back to him.

 

But why wouldn’t he assume that? He witnessed her hurt over losing him, he knew they had a son together...It was natural. Yet she hated it. She kissed him a few hours ago, why did he think she still wanted to be with Neal? Why this was the first thing he thought without even asking her? _You_ _told_ _him_ _it_ _was_ a _one_ - _time_ _thing_. She reminded herself. That sounded a lot like regretting the kiss. She didn’t. But Hook didn’t know that.

 

She had to admit his assumptions, everyone’s assumptions were logical but they didn’t feel any less terrifying to her.

 

“If...” She started warily. “If what you claim is true, why would she be any more powerful than Henry so that Pan is willing to trade them? As far as I know, Henry doesn’t have magic and didn’t have it as a baby either. And he’s my son.”

 

“Emma, everyone manifests their powers on their own time. Henry has the heart of the truest believer but don’t forget he grew up in a non-magical town, at least until you came. Maybe in the environment Hope grows up in magic is encouraged. I’m sure you’ll be better with it as well, and more comfortable. If Neal Is your true love, both of your children will have magic, that’s how it goes.”

 

“My... true love?”

 

That was steps ahead. Miles ahead.

 

“We don’t have any clues, of course, any kisses or tests but I think this little girl is all that we need to know.” Mary-Margaret was sounding almost excited as she walked to Killian and gently took the baby in her own arms. Hope was half asleep, exhausted by all the screaming she had done and didn’t complain. “I always knew you looked like Emma, sweetie. I did.”

 

“Magic can also be hereditary though, milady.” Emma noticed Hook was missing the usual gleam in his eye. His arms were empty without Hope but somehow the look on his face seemed even emptier. Maybe the meeting with Pan shook him more than she thought. Or maybe... “Regardless of who her father is, maybe Hope doesn’t have true love magic but inherited Emma’s savior powers.”

 

That sounded more logical to Emma. Maybe she should be alerted by the fact that she just considered the idea of having a child from the future who inherited her somehow strong magical powers logical but the alternative was way crazier.

 

“That’s possible. But I still think Emma and Neal deserve their fairytale ever after. What do you say Emma?”

 

Emma felt like she couldn’t hear a word more. She looked at Hope sleeping in her mother’s arms, everything suddenly becoming too overwhelming. She wanted to prove them wrong, shout at them all the reasons why this was inaccurate, but she couldn’t. Instead, she did the thing she knew how to do best. She ran, the last she heard being the hushed voices of her parents talking about the fastest ways to locate Neal. 

                                             ——————————

“Can I sit?” Mary-Margaret  said gently as she approached the clearing Emma had sat at, not three minutes away from their camp. She shrugged, not bothering to answer. She knew her mum wasn’t to blame but she felt drained. She sat next to her, reaching to put a strand of hair behind her ear, in a motherly gesture Emma wasn’t used to. “I know you don’t want to talk, but maybe you’ll want to hear me out, okay?”

 

“Where is the baby?” Emma asked, noticing she wasn’t carrying the girl in her arms anymore. Not that she cared to know. What difference would it make? At the end of the day, apparently, it was still hers. 

 

“Your dad was excited to have her for a while.” She smiled. “Don’t tell him, but I think he imagines it’s you sometimes. Even from the moment we saw her, but especially now. You wanna know what I know?”

 

“What?

 

“Hope is gonna be spoilt rotten between him and I. Poor baby.” She chuckled but for once her happiness wasn’t contagious. Emma kept looking at the ground, absentmindedly toying with the hem of her shirt.

 

“Oh, Emma.” She looked up despite knowing her mother could see her watery eyes. “It’s gonna be okay. You’re not alone this time. And it’s probably years down the road.”

 

“It’s crazy. This is crazy.”

 

“But it’s not. Hope looks like you, she’s just as beautiful.” She smiled. “And you heard Hook, she has your light magic. She has your baby blanket, and she’s positively delighted whenever you are near.”

 

“Mum-“

 

“Emma, sweetheart, it’s not that surprising to want to grow your family with Neal. It’s good.” Mary Margaret reached for her hand and squeezed it reassuringly. “Think of it like that. You’re happy, you are together, had another child. It means Henry is safe, doesn’t it?”

 

She didn’t know. She didn’t know what it meant. Maybe her mother was right. Maybe it was a sign Henry was okay in the future and that’s all that mattered. Yet the thought of getting back together with Neal after everything sickened her. Her mother didn’t know her past with him, she never told her. Maybe that’s why she was such a fierce supporter of Neal. She hadn’t told her father either. She thinks he’d want to punch him as soon as they found him again.

 

He’d just be about ten years too late.

 

She was scared to admit it, even to herself, but when she thought he was dead she felt relieved somehow. It was a terrible thought to have. No matter what, he was her son’s father. And yet, she was selfish. She thought if he was dead wounds of the past would never reopen. It would be safe.

 

And now...Someone tells her not only that he’s alive but she also gives him a second chance. Not even just an experimental date, but a baby. Possibly a wedding. She felt uncomfortable at the thought. It felt wrong. So very wrong. Yet she knew Henry was pining for them to be together. What if she did it for him? What if after this scary experience, after Neverland, she couldn’t manage to disappoint him. What if they made it work for him?

 

That was possible, Emma realized with grief. She didn’t know what she was hoping for regarding this baby’s parentage. But it wasn’t that.

 

She knew she could never fall in love with Neal again. Understanding, respect, co-parenting she could manage. But not love. Maybe they both did it for Henry, a joint agreement to make him happy. Spending her life with Neal for Henry’s sake would mean resigning from any chance of ever finding love, the romantic kind, in her life. It was a sad, sad realization to make, but she knew that she had practically already sworn herself off from love anyway.

 

Some rare times she hoped this would change, her mind wandering to places it never should but deep down she knew. Her heart was guarded, maybe too much sometimes but it was safer this way. As for marriage and babies, those were the first things she had deleted from her imaginary list of things Emma Swan will do in her life.

 

Yet here was this baby future her apparently had.

 

The real question was, even if she got together with Neal, even if she officially resigned from love so she could give her son his parents together, would she reach as far as to have a baby?

 

She shook her head, realizing she should stop beating around the bush. She wouldn’t. She knew she wouldn’t. She had loathed Neal so much in her first pregnancy, the memories of it still plaguing her so often that she knew she wouldn’t ever do it again.

 

“What if it’s not Neal’s?” She said quietly and her mother looked genuinely surprised.

 

“But you love Neal. Hope has magic.”

 

“Hook said her magic might have nothing to do with love anyway.”

 

“Of course Hook said that.” She rolled her eyes. “I’m so grateful for his help, for Henry, for your father, but no one can miss the way he looks at you.” At her daughter’s sad expression she continued. “Emma, don’t be scared to embrace your happiness. It’s real. You can have it.”

 

_I_ _don’t_ _want_ _to_. She wanted to scream. _I_ _don’t_ _want_ _this_. She didn’t want a baby and even less a baby with him. Yet everyone was so certain that’s where her happiness lied she almost felt bad to crash it.

 

The concept of living the rest of her life with Neal was so foreign. Maybe twelve years ago it seemed ideal, but she changed. They changed.

 

Who would comfort her when she woke up terrified from a nightmare when her nightmare was about the man who lied in bed beside her? How could she ever have his child and not think of Henry, and of how, if Neal didn’t leave, if he didn’t frame her for his crime, if they ran away together as they’d planned she’d have kept him and her life would be completely different? How could she wear a ring for him, a symbol of love and devotion, when the only jewelry he had given her hung from her neck for years as a reminder not to trust anyone again? How could she trust _him_?

 

“Mom...I don’t love Neal. Not as something more than the father of my son at least. I don’t think I’d be together with him again and ...even if I was, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have a child with him.”

 

Snow gasped like her favorite fairytale was suddenly ruined. “You don’t? But I thought he was your true-”

 

“I don’t have a true love.” She didn’t. That was all fairytales. Swashbuckling tales about kings and queens and princesses and love in a world she never met. She lived in real life and in real life, there wasn’t such thing as “true love” or “happy endings.” She knew her mum would try to convince her of the opposite, forever a beacon of light and hope, so she just shrugged. “But even if I did, it wouldn’t be Neal. What we had is over. Long over, mum. Maybe one day I’ll share this story with you.”

 

“You know I’m here for you, Emma. You can talk to me always. About anything.”

 

“Not now. But I promise, one day I’ll be ready.”

“I’ll be here.” She said softly, caressing her palm with her thumb. She was grateful she wasn’t pushing her. Is this how mums were? This silent but forever present source of comfort and warmth was something new to her. Something her tiny self would sacrifice everything to experience.

 

“So you’re sure she’s not his?”

 

“I am.” No matter how many times she weighed it in her mind she just knew it couldn’t be. “I know myself enough to say this. Even if I ever gave him a chance, for Henry, I’d never have a kid with him. Especially not a kid. Plus she looks nothing like him.”

 

“Henry has his coloring, maybe she got yours.”

 

“She has blue eyes.” It was one of the first things she had noticed about her. And the more she looked at her the more she realized it wasn’t the kind of faint blue that all babies had and you just knew would change as she got older. That was a deep blue, a definitive trait she’d have for her whole life. Emma knew.

 

“If she’s not Neal’s then who might be her father then?”

 

“I have no idea.“

 

“Swan,” Hook appeared in the clearing, srtarling both. “We found where Tinkerbell resides. Should she agree to help us we can get to Neal, today even.”

 

Emma turned and looked at him, _really_ looked at him, probably for the first time since she learned the news about the baby, realization of something she hadn't considered before dawning on her.

 

She must have gone as white as a sheet and that was what made Hook kneel in front of her, searching her eyes with his own blue ones. That deep blue that doesn't fade...That doesn't...

 

“Are you okay, love?”  
  


_She_ _has_ _blue_ _eyes_. Her own voice echoed in her brain. She kissed Hook. She told him it was a one-time thing but..Did she even believe that for a second? She could have continued with him when things calmed down, she definitely could. It wasn't like she hadn't thought of it. Intensely. Repeatedly. 

And it doesn't take much to make a baby, if Henry had taught her anything.

 

She suddenly remembered how comfortable Hope was in Hook's arms. Only hers and his.

 

_Oh_ _shit_.

 

"Forget Tinkerbell, we need to talk."

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the big reveal! Next chapter Killian learns the truth as well. I hope you liked this one even if it was kind of plot heavy (or I’m just too used to writing quiet moments haha). Once the reveals are made it will definitely have much more emotions and bonding of them and Hope than anything else. Plus the details of her mysterious appearance will be more clear with time. 
> 
> (P.S: Emma calming Hope after her magical outburst by putting her against her chest will be explained more later. In the future, both Emma and Killian can help settle Hope down equally successfully but due to her magic being so tightly tethered to her mum’s, there’s a special connection that’s being made between their powers that helps keep Hope’s at bay when she’s having a magical episode. Killian doesn’t complain, he’s better at treating scrapped knees anyway XD)
> 
> Thanks SO MUCH for taking the time to read :) the next chapter is one of my favorites and I can't wait to share it with you!


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey :)   
> So after I finished writing this chapter and was ready to post it I realised it was about 9k words. So I thought of dividing in order for it to be more easy to read. Therefore this a shorter chapter than the original plan but the next one will be up within the next couple of days, as it only needs proofreading.   
> I hope you enjoy it!

The realization had hit her like a storm.

 

The more she thought of it the more of Killian she could see in the baby. Her eyes. Her ears, which had this weird -no, definitely not cute Emma, you aren’t allowed to think it’s cute- elvish shape. And then it was the way she always giggled and squirmed when she saw Killian’s face.

 

It was madness, absolute madness. Could he really be her dad?

 

Could she have had a child with Captain Hook? Well, from the technical aspect of the thing, she could. Because she definitely _could_ have had sex with Captain Hook.

 

_Killian_ , she reminded herself. Not Captain Hook. That brought Disney’s Captain Hook in her mind and she definitely wouldn’t have sex with _him_. That was a new kind of weird thought she needed to delete.

 

But with Killian...At first, she didn’t plan on continuing things between them. It wasn’t that she didn’t enjoy the single kiss they shared. The taste of his lips was burning on her tongue still. The decision not to let things go further stemmed from the exact fact that she _did_ enjoy it.

 

 Maybe a bit too much.

 

 If she was that affected by a kiss, who knows what would happen if things went on? That’s why she shrugged it off as a one-time thing. She wouldn’t let herself dive into this, she’d fight it if needed be, even when they returned to Storybrooke. She didn’t do “romance”, that was her rule, and her and Killian’s situation raised all the red flags.

 

But apparently, if her gut was right about the kid, she continued long enough to sleep with him. And being careless, of all things.

 

This wasn’t her first rodeo and that was what made her feel even more unsettled. She should have known better after Neal. What did it say about her that she had to announce to two different men she had their children in just a matter of a few months? She knew the situation wasn’t like it sounded; She had Henry more than a decade ago and god knows when she’d have this one. But still.

 

It felt like she had to tell Killian she was carrying his child when they hadn’t even had sex. And when she also definitely wasn’t pregnant. _Yet_. She reminded herself. She definitely wasn’t pregnant _yet_.

 

“What do you want to talk about, love?” Killian asked concerned, noticing how skittish she was being. “Are you sure you are okay?”

 

Emma turned to her mother. “Can you leave us alone for a bit?”

 

“Emma, I’m not sure it’s-“

 

“Please, mum.” She repeated. “Go back to the camp and I’ll join you in just a bit.” She forced a smile, just to make Mary-Margaret stop worrying.

 

“Alright.” She clearly wasn’t happy with leaving but she had no choice.

 

This conversation had to happen between the two of them. She didn’t even want to imagine her parents' reactions when they learned. For now, she had to focus on Killian’s reaction. One step at a time.

 

Killian was still kneeling to the ground beside her and she patted the place next to her for him to sit. He did, but to her surprise, he left quite the distance between them. She noticed he was more serious than she was used to seeing him. No innuendos. No jokes about “getting him alone to have her way with him.” He looked worried and anxious, no spark in his eyes when he turned to look at her. Emma thought the feelings in her heart must be mirrored in her face too well, scaring Killian and making him less eager to flirt with her.

 

Or maybe he just didn’t want to flirt anymore. It’s not like she wanted it. Or missed it or anything. She would focus better now. No distractions. She just had to convince herself it was better this way. After all, she doubted the conversation they’d have to start would be easy for either of them.

 

Frankly, she didn’t know what to say or how to phrase her thoughts as if not to sound silly _. I know we only shared one kiss and I made it very clear it was gonna be our last but I think the future daughter I learned I apparently have is yours_. No. Tact was never her strong suit but this was too much for the poor man to bear.

 

“Swan,” He started, breaking the silence which was too already long to be comfortable. “I know what you want to tell me.”

 

“Wait...you do?” How did he know? Did he have suspicions too? Did he feel the connection from the start like her, but refused to admit it before? Why hadn’t he told her?

 

“Aye. And you don’t have to worry, love.” He offered another sad smile, from the ones he kept giving her since the theories about Hope started. “I won’t tell him.”

 

“You won't tell him? You won’t tell whom?”

 

He seemed cautious to proceed, more interested in looking at the pebbles on the ground than her eyes. She saw him struggling to find words, something she didn’t remember having witnessed again when it came to him. He always had the right line, the one that would make her laugh and blush and want to smack him at the same time.

 

God, she needed to stop thinking about this. She had already concluded that no flirting was better, hadn’t she? Yet she thought that if he sent a smirk her way, or raised his eyebrow or did something, _anything_ , that would lighten the atmosphere and make her feel like maybe he wasn’t already resenting her, the talk would be much easier.

 

That’s probably why he was acting like that. He said he knew the truth and if he did...He probably resented her, and Hope and the situation. Maybe he was too nice to say so but he must resent her, right?

 

He was sweet with Hope when he thought she was a random baby they came across but maybe now, that he realized it’s his own...He was a pirate. That’s definitely not what he had planned for his life. It’s not what she had planned for her life either but, apparently, life itself had strange ways to throw you off course.

 

It’s not like she would ask him for anything. She didn’t know much about the future, but she still knew she would never suggest him to stick around for the baby. They screwed up, both of them, but if in the future he wanted to go sail the seven seas or whatever it was that pirates did, nothing was keeping him. She knew he had a moral code, which was what was probably troubling him but she would make it clear from the start.

 

“You know whom, Emma.” He replied to the question she had even forgotten she asked him. He still wasn’t looking at her, but his voice wasn’t cold or distant. It just carried a certain resignation in it she couldn’t quite place. “And you have my word. I’ll keep it a secret.”

 

Keep what a secret? Hope? The fact that he’s her father? How could they keep a secret like that, when everyone would be asking about it? Everyone was _already_ asking about it. Did he feel ashamed, was that it?

 

“Hook...We can’t keep it a secret if we want to take her back to her...” She couldn’t say parents anymore. Definitely not parents. “Time.” She said instead.

 

“Neal doesn’t have to know, Swan. I swear in my life I won’t tell him of our shared moment if that’s what you want from me. You can have your family together. I won’t be an obstacle to your happiness. I would never.” He ran his hand through his hair. “If you want to never talk about what happened between us again, I’ll understand.”

 

_Wait_. He was talking about the kiss. He thought she wanted to talk to him about keeping their kiss a secret from Neal when they found him. But why, since... _Oh god._ He didn’t know. He knew nothing.

 

“Wait, Killian. You got it all wrong here.” That’s when he raised his head, looking at her for the first time. “That's not what I wanted to tell you.”

 

Even if the baby was indeed Neal’s she could honestly not care less of what Neal would think of her making out with Killian. She wouldn’t bother with some jealous ex shenanigans when her son was still abducted and her d...the baby was still at the wrong timeline. She didn’t regret the kiss, she never would.

 

“No?” He said surprised. “But when you said you wanted to talk to me alone before we went to find Neal, I thought...Now that you learned about Hope, I believed you’d want to try and build something with him as soon as we got him back.”

 

“For claiming to read me like an open book, you’re awful at this, you know?” She tried to joke, and he scratched behind his ear, a nervous habit Emma had caught him doing more often than not the rare times he felt shy. “The baby isn’t Neal’s.”

 

“But...”

 

“That’s what I wanted to tell you.” Just get on with it. Like ripping off a band aid. What’s the worst that could happen? Unless he had a chronic heart condition she didn’t know about or something, they’d handle it. “I think...I think that the baby might be yours.”

 

Killian blinked fast as if her words didn’t register and she waited.

 

“Mine? But we talked about this and...” When she kept looking at him insistently, it dawned on him and Emma could see all kind of emotions passing through his eyes. “Wait, Emma, _yours_ and mine?”

 

“Yeah.” She replied, holding his gaze. “I mean it’s only a theory. I just think, she’s definitely not Neal’s, I know that, and she has your eyes, like everyone noticed from the start and she looks comfortable with you and...Damn, I’m just babbling.” She said resigned. “I need to stop.”

 

“Swan...We’ve never...We two didn’t...We just kissed.”

 

Emma shrugged. She had questioned this herself as well, and the explanation was simple. “She’s from the future.”

 

Her being from the future could mean she could be from years down the road. Even if she doubted Killian would stick around that long. She had too much emotional baggage for anyone to do so. He had stayed interested longer than she thought he would, but she wasn’t silly to believe it would last, especially as he would most probably be crashing to more and more of her walls.

 

If she was to take a guess, she’d say she was conceived somewhere after the time they -hopefully- got Henry back. Maybe the excitement made her more carefree. Wasn’t that why she had kissed him now? She was happy for her father, truly happy and relieved after what felt like centuries and she couldn’t quite find any strength to hold back from what she wanted, the voice in her head telling her all the reasons why it was a bad idea fainter than ever.

 

“Killian, look, I know it’s crazy...I don’t even know why I’m telling you since I can’t be sure, I can’t know but...”

 

“No, love, you did well.” He replied. “I just...I never thought I was a possibility. ”

 

“You never thought you’d have sex with me? And here I was, thinking you ‘fancied’ me.” She said, imitating his accent.

 

“Bloody hell, Emma, of course I do. Of course I like you. And I want you. I simply meant-“

 

“I was just joking.” She replied, noticing he seemed almost offended by her statement. “You’re a possibility. The only one actually, from the people I know. It’s you or a person I’ve yet to meet. You felt a connection with her, didn’t you?”

 

“The little lass captured my heart since the moment I saw her, that’s true. But you said there’s no future for us and even if I hoped and wished in my heart you’d change your mind I would never place myself uninvited, right in the middle of your life like that.” He shook his head. “I just...Lord, Emma.”

 

“It doesn’t have to be something so overwhelming.” She tried, but she knew it was a lie. Learning you have a child is overwhelming regardless of circumstances. “Maybe we...Maybe we were careless when we slept together. It doesn’t take much.”

 

She knew it didn’t, she knew it first-hand. That’s why, she reminded herself, contradicting her own previous statement, she was never careless before. Not about this. Never since Henry. When she got pregnant with Henry, she barely knew what she was doing, Neal assuring her he was experienced and that he had his methods to avoid any “unnecessary consequences”, as he called them. Methods which, she realized not many months later, clearly didn’t work. But he was her first and she trusted him more than she had trusted any person in her life till then. Plus, she didn’t want to disappoint him by suggesting he didn’t know what he was doing.

 

As she got older, she realized how stupid she was being. At least it got her Henry, so it worked out in the end. She’d never change him for anything in the world. Neal took a lot from her but, in a way, she would always be grateful to him for their son.

 

She couldn’t say she had many stable relationships after that, if any at all, most of her endeavours just all-nighters she would pick up to scratch an itch. But she was always careful. She couldn’t risk it. She had already brought a child into life, a child without a family. And that was painful enough.

 

That’s the only thing that didn’t add up. Hooking up with Killian wasn’t out of the realm of possibility, quite the contrary. But she couldn’t understand how she could be so careless. She couldn’t pinpoint a single time she was risky before, Neal aside.

 

They must have been terribly drunk. Both of them. Or the protection had somehow failed. There was always this 1% possibility the statistics went on and on about.

 

The only other explanation was for her to want to-...No, that was impossible. Stupid birth control failure. That was it.

 

“I’m sure there will be a way to test it. If we were in Storybrooke we’d get a DNA test done but here our options are quite limited...Wait, scratch that, you have no idea what a DNA test is, do you?”

 

To no surprise, he shook his head.

 

“Eh, it’s a medical way to figure out paternity. They take some saliva, or blood from the potential father and from the baby and by analysing them they can say if the two are related.”

 

“They can do that?” Killian looked surprised. “How?”

 

“It has to do with genetics. They examine the specimens and see how similar they are to each other.” It’s not like Emma knew the specifics either. Biology was never her strong suit.

 

“We have to be in Storybrooke for that?”

 

“It’s done to a hospital, so yes. My parents are much more familiar with magic but there has to be something magical we can do, right? We will ask them.” Killian still didn’t seem to have recovered fully from his initial state of shock, so she continued. “I know it’s a lot to take in, I do. And honestly, I wouldn’t have told you this without any proof, but we need to find all the possible information about her to search for a way to send her back. You just...You don’t have to deal with it now. I simply wanted to tell you my suspicions here, without everyone watching. I don’t know how to tell my parents and...Damn, I’m not sure my dad would love the thought. We’ll ask though.” She replied with certainty. “Sooner or later I will need to tell them.”

 

“At least no one will force you to be excited either way so that’s good.” She thought of her mother and how hard she was trying to persuade her that this baby was the happiest thing that could ever happen to her, proof of her fairy tale ending with Neal. “And no one will expect you to handle her, which is good as well. Trust me Hook, you got it better than me here, whatever the outcome.” She waited for a reply, anything, but it didn’t come, his expression slowly changing from shock to something resembling grief. Emma thought that was her cue to leave. “If you want to be alone I can- “

 

Killian instantly reached for her shoulder with his hand, motioning for her to sit back down. “Emma, love, please stay. Don’t believe for a second that being your daughter’s father is what’s burdening me.” He sighed. “I’m just...I’m sorry.”

 

She didn’t know what she expected him to say after the revelation she made. Him to make some kind of innuendo about finally jabbing her with his sword, or brag or even maybe be frustrated with this turn of events. She never expected him to apologize.

 

“Sorry? About what?”

 

“About what you said. Having to handle her, and being put under this pressure. If I knew, if I didn’t think it wasn’t my place, I would have intervened, I would have said something. To Pan or to your parents or, or to you Emma. You dealt with it alone so far and while you handled it with grace, I should have been the one to carry the weight as well.”

 

“Killian, it’s not your fault.” That’s what was making him sad? The fact that he didn’t help so far, help as the baby’s dad?

 

Since Pan told them about her, she had realised that no matter how much her parents wanted to help, the weight had visibly shifted to her. She had to figure it out, to untangle this mess. If she was the mother, she was the person most responsible to find the father as well as the way back. Mary-Margaret and David would go out of their way to help, maybe even Regina would reluctantly contribute but the dynamic had changed. And it was this change that was scaring her the most. How everyone was expecting her to be a mother when she wasn’t, when she never wanted to be.

 

Killian knew. She felt as if her heart was bare to him, as if he could see right through her fears and insecurities. And he stood there. Every time he stood there as they danced around him, chasing them away one by one with his words.

 

“No, Emma.” He insisted. “You already feel like you have the weight of the world in your shoulders. I need to, I mean, I want to ...If your suspicions are true this baby is partly my doing, isn’t that right?” He smiled, the first real smile she had seen of him for what felt like ages.

 

Emma simply nodded, not trusting herself to speak. She didn’t know what was affecting her more, his words or the way he was looking at her, with eyes softer than she thought possible. She didn’t think anyone had ever looked at her like that before. _Powerful_. That’s the only way she could describe his gaze, words like affectionate or gentle being too poor. Too simple.

 

“I want to tell you that no matter what, I’ll be here for you. And I mean you both.” It was the first time someone referred to her and the baby as a unit and it was making her heart beat even faster. Panic or something else, unspecified filling her. “And before you say anything, love, this isn’t just because it’s the right, or gentlemanly thing to do, but because I really, genuinely want to, alright? I need you to know that. I’ll be here. Not just some random time in the future, none of us know about. Now.”

 

She nodded again, knowing words weren’t enough, knowing they would fail her. Killian stayed silent as well, and Emma realized he was giving her time. Or a leeway. It must have been just a few seconds but it felt like centuries before she got up. She needed to. She didn’t know how much more she would be able to hear without breaking down.

 

“I just...I need to go back. You can take a few minutes if you want.”

 

“As you wish.”

 

If Emma’s eyes were shining with unshed tears as she was walking towards the camp, no one needed to know. She blinked to get rid of them, the only effects of Killian’s words now safely kept in a deep, maybe too deep, place in her heart

 

                                                                                   ——

 

Killian sat there unmoving after Emma left, his face in his hands, trying to wrap his head around what just happened. His life had been turned upside down in just a few minutes. It’s not the first time this happened but it was the first time it was for something so… _good_. His life had been turned upside down when his mother died. When his father left them. When Liam died. When the crocodile killed Milah. But now…

 

There was a high possibility he had a daughter. A daughter with Emma Swan. The woman he felt drawn too since the moment he saw her.

 

She was too good for him, he knew. She was a hero, a princess, a leader. She was ethereal, her emerald eyes looking right through him, her hair as golden as her heart. He was a pirate with a notorious reputation. It chased after him no matter how far he was trying to run from it...And yet... The idea was settling in his mind and warming his heart so much that frankly, he didn’t know what he’d do if Emma turned out to be wrong.

 

Hope was beautiful. Gorgeous really. She looked like an angel and he couldn’t understand how he would ever be capable of creating something so pure. Him of all people. It must have been Emma. All Emma. Her godlike nature outweighing his terrible one while making this miracle.

 

He wasn’t foolish enough to assume Emma chose to have this child with him. He hoped, he still hoped he could one day win her heart but that, a child, was too forward. More than his own mind dared to reach when he dreamt of them. After all, he doubted Swan would like to have another child with anyone, let alone himself.

 

She said they were careless, a night of passion that ended up with more than either of them had bargained for. It was logical. It was what anyone would think. Yet he wondered how. He was always too careful, taking every necessary precaution not to leave any unwanted children behind him, even when he was too drunk to walk straight. And Emma was...Well, she was too special to not think about something so big. He wouldn’t leave something like that at stake if the time came that he and Emma made love.

 

He shook his head trying to delete all the hope blooming in his chest, telling him that against all odds, maybe this wasn’t an accidental slip. It would do him no good to get ahead of himself like that. He had to focus on Emma now. Emma and Hope.

 

He wanted to see her. _Hope_. He wanted to hold her. He felt his arms aching for her, even if she was in them not too long ago. If the little lass was his, if she was his daughter, if he was her dad...She needed him. He was responsible for her. Now. Always.

 

He was trying hard to focus on the “now” rather than the “always”. Whenever he started to consider what having a daughter would mean for his future, for him, for him and Emma his thoughts drowned him. It was a labyrinth he was getting deeper into with every single thought he had, every single feeling he felt. Focus on the “now”, that’s what he should do. On the little lass that lost her way. The little lass he needs to get home. _His_ little lass.

 

Then there was Emma. He couldn’t possibly not focus on Emma. He has been doing so since he first met her. Back then, when the compass in him forever changed. It wasn’t pointing north anymore. It was pointing to her. Forever her.

 

Emma was his dream. His heart beating for her, alive, more alive than it had been in centuries. But now, he was seeing Emma in a whole new, different light- how could he not?

 

She wasn’t only the woman he, so unexpectedly and so deeply, fell in love with. If that was true, Emma was the mother of his child. She carried his child and brought her to the world.

 

He smiled, a new softness blooming in his soul.

 

He and Emma actually made a child. There was a person half her and half him; that was more than he could ever fathom. More than he could ever wish for. His heart was beating so fast he felt like it would stop. He loved Emma, he had admitted that to himself already. He loved her so fiercely he wouldn’t hesitate one second to let his life on the line just so she could see her smile again.

 

He was feeling so much already, he didn’t think his own soul was capable for more.

 

Learning this though, learning Emma brought his, -their, gods, it’s their- child to life overwhelmed him in ways he could never imagine before. This tiny little human had her as a mum and somehow, somehow fate had deemed him worthy to be her dad. He knew he didn’t deserve it. But bloody hell...

 

He felt the need to protect her so strongly, her and Emma both. He knew Emma was terrified out of her mind at this turn of events as if she didn’t have enough in her plate. All he wanted to do is run to her and comfort her, hold her hand and tell her it was going to be okay. Remind her that he’d be there for her, in whatever capacity she let him. He would have been there for her regardless of Hope’s paternity unless she asked him not to. Unless she wanted a fair chance with the possible father of her child, which he would give her.

 

All he wanted was to envelop Emma in his arms and make sure she knew, tell her again and again that she didn’t have to deal with any of it alone, but he knew her well enough to know when she wanted some space. He just hoped she’d know to lean on him if she needed it.

 

Granted, he thought, Emma Swan didn’t lean on anyone. At least he never saw her doing so for the time he knew her. But this was _their_ thing now.

 

Maybe for once, they could lean on each other. He had hope.

 

And gods, he had _Hope_.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Emma and Killian had their well-needed talk. Their reaction to learning about Hope is vastly different but it's logical considering Killian is already madly in love with Emma while Emma isn't there quite yet and this turn of events panics her. I think Emma's feelings will be even more clear in the next chapter when she and Killian will get the chance to reveal more stuff to each other. I hope you understand her a bit for not not loving the idea of the baby immediately XD That's Neverland Emma after all, but she'll get there.  
> As always, thank you so much for reading and for your wonderful feeback which fills my heart with rainbows every single time.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heyyy :) thank you so much for still reading this story. I’m really grateful. It’s so hard for me to schedule weekly updates because of university work that keeps coming when I least expect it. But I’ll never abandon it, that much is certain. I’m excited to share the ending with you all so if you are sticking with it, rest assured that it will be finished <3
> 
> (Note on the chapter: Regina might appear a bit too harsh, but keep in mind it’s s3 Regina, the same one that called Emma “pathetic waste of ability” when she couldn’t use magic. She wouldn’t be kind with wasting time from saving Henry for Hope.   
> Same with Emma, it’s s3 Emma. I hope this explains her emotional turmoil that is slowly but steadily turning to acceptance. Or love. Or both.)
> 
> I hope you enjoy the chapter!

The first thing Emma noticed after she came back to the camp from her talk with Killian, leaving him a few minutes to collect his thoughts, was that Regina had returned. She realized her parents must had filled her in with what happened already, not missing the judgmental look in her eyes when she spotted her. She knew what the other woman was thinking.

 

The same thing she thought herself a few times. Another accidental baby, another fatherless child. Another mess surrounding her that she couldn’t fix. She took a deep breath before approaching the group, trying to remember Killian’s words. The baby wasn’t fatherless. She had to believe she wasn’t, the idea of Killian being her dad settling more and more in her heart as time passed. They’d fix this.

 

The second thing she noticed, was that Hope was crying. A lot. She was crying like all babies did, Emma guessed, because she needed something and she should have known this “angelic phase” she was mentally praising her for wouldn’t last long. Babies were hard work. Babies needed parents who knew what to do with them.

 

Parents.

 

She needed to tell Mary-Margaret and David about Killian. Regina as well. Maybe she had a spell that could help confirm their suspicions. Emma felt like she didn’t really need a spell or any kind of confirmation for what she already knew in her heart, but it was the right thing to do. They had to be sure. Hook deserved as much.

 

“What’s wrong?” She asked, walking to her mother and father who were both fussing over a clearly distressed baby.

Her mother’s eyes shined when she noticed her, relief painting her face. “Oh, Emma, thank god. She’ll stop with you.” Without much talk, she passed the infant to Emma’s unprepared arms.

 

“Wait I-“ She didn’t know when she became the baby’s de facto caregiver and it was bringing her equal parts of fear and despair. She knew it shouldn’t. After everything that occurred, everything they learned, it was reasonable but she wasn’t ready. And the worst thing was that she wasn’t sure she’d ever be.

 

“Emma, please. Just for a little bit.” Mary-Margaret looked unusually disoriented as well as slightly panicked, and Emma thought that no matter how much she loved having her, at that moment, the baby was really testing her.

 

“Right.” Regina cleared her throat. “Now that we learned Miss Swan is the child’s mother. I suggest we split. She can be responsible for taking her back to her time and we can turn our full focus back where it should be.”

 

“Regina-“

 

“Isn’t that what we wanted from the start? To find the baby’s mother so we can leave it with her and search for Henry? Well, we found her.” She motioned to Emma with her hands. “It isn’t like we will leave the child to danger. I’m sure Miss Swan is able to keep it alive till she sends it back.”

 

“Are you serious?” Was she really suggesting for her to abandon the search for Henry? Henry was...He was her whole world and even the idea that she, his own mother, would let him down was making her want to punch something. “I lead us here up to this point. And I will keep doing it till the minute my son is back in my arms.”

 

Regina didn’t look much convinced, rolling her eyes dismissively, something that made Emma’s blood boil.

 

As if that wasn’t enough, the crying wasn’t stopping, but instead getting louder. She didn’t know what to do. She couldn’t talk to her, she couldn’t cuddle her, she couldn’t rock her...

 

It was just too much.

 

It was easier before she learned. It was easier to pretend you don’t have to get attached. It was easier to play the role of the strange lady the baby somehow took a liking to, than that of the mother.

 

She thought the little girl could sense her fear and anger because for the first time she was rigid in her arms, still so loud, her face scrunched up in distress and eyes wet. Maybe it was stupid. She knew animals could smell fear, but babies?

 

Maybe getting herself to calm down would help, but it felt impossible. The crying, the beating of her heart that felt deafening, Killian’s words, the fact that she had a baby -they had a baby- when she couldn’t-

 

She squeezed her eyes, hoping that if she concentrated hard enough her brain would block the sound.

 

“Emma for God’s sake, please, do something!” It was Regina who spoke up again, bringing her back to reality.

 

“What the hell am I supposed to do?”

 

“I don’t know, it’s your child. Make it stop.” She couldn’t, despite her mother’s previous certainty, the one made her rush the baby in her arms the moment she saw her. It wasn’t surprising she was a failure in this. The baby calmed down with her a bit at the start, a fact she considered pure luck. It wasn’t her talented parenting as Mary-Margaret apparently wanted to assume.

 

David turned to her as if he could read the panic all over her face. “Hey, hey, Regina, give her a break. It’s a lot to take in.”

 

“We have no time for breaks Charming, my son is in danger. We’ll be meal for the Lost Boys if this little demon doesn’t stop screaming. This is supposed to be a _hiding_ place.”

 

“You think I don’t know? You think I'm not terrified? He’s my son too.”

 

“Is he, Miss Swan?” Regina challenged. “Because the only one that still remembers him here is me. If you want to get back home and fawn over your new baby no one is stopping you. Unless you didn’t get to keep that one either.” She looked at Hope dismissively. “Which, judging by the way you don’t seem capable of making it stop screaming, would probably be for the best interest of all of us.”

 

Emma felt tears prickling in her eyes. This was a low blow and Regina knew it. No matter how angry the other woman was, bringing up giving up Henry was below the belt and violating this informal pact she and Regina had made for the best interests of their son.

 

“You know what, I just...” She shoved the baby in her mother’s arms. “I’m out. I can’t.”

 

Mary-Margaret opened her mouth to say something to stop her but she was late, as she had already stormed off into the jungle.

 

“Regina, what was that for?” The other woman said as she started bouncing the baby in her arms again to make her stop, making shushing sounds. “Just think how she must be feeling right now.”

 

“What’s so terrible about what she has? She has a baby. Sorry if I don’t pity her ‘oh so happy’ future.” Regina was pacing up and down, her voice loud enough to cover the crying. “She will just have to deal with it for a few days till we save Henry and then we’ll send the baby back to the future. So what?”

 

“It’s not like that and you know it, Regina. Emma can barely imagine herself in a relationship with someone, her walls too high to even let me and David in, and she gets thrown a baby out of nowhere and is told to play home? How is she supposed to act?”

 

If the baby was her and David’s they would be overjoyed about what the future holds, but Emma? Mary-Margaret was still discovering more and more things about her daughter each passing day but one thing she knew already: Emma did not deal well with feelings. The only person she was visibly affectionate with was Henry and Mary-Margaret could sense her fear over the changed future dynamic when Hope came into the picture. What would that ensue? Would she marry again? Would this baby be planned? Would the father be in the picture? Would she want it? Would Hope grow up with Henry? Would Henry even be-

 

She shook her head. No. She refused to go there. Henry would be alright.

 

It was when Hook arrived at the clearing that Mary-Margaret realized she was lost in her own thoughts. He must have heard them. Or the baby. None of them tried to be particularly quiet.

 

“Why were you shouting?” His eyes frantically danced around, searching for the person he always looked for first. “Where is Emma?”

 

“There was a bit of an argument...” Mary-Margaret said, looking down and Killian’s immediately turned to the other woman. He knew the two royals wouldn’t tell Emma something to send her over the edge, and she was fine after their talk.

 

“What the bloody hell did you say to her?” Regina didn’t reply and he looked at her intensely before shaking his head, deciding it wasn’t worth it. It was Emma he needed to get to.Mary-Margaret put her hand on his shoulder as if reading his thoughts.

 

“Emma will come back, Hook, she just wanted to get away for a bit.” He was about to go after her when her grip on his shoulder tightened and he sighed. “Give her space. How about you help me with this one instead? She’s set on challenging our hearing for quite some time now.”

 

The moment Killian’s eyes made contact with the baby, every fear that she might have not been his daughter completely eradicated from his mind. Looking at her felt like a million rainbows in his heart. The big rainbows, those that could manifest themselves proudly even in between dozens of clouds. He had never thought about how having a child would be like, but right at that moment he truly believed every breath he had taken, every beat of his heart were just all leading to this moment. Fate graced him with something this beautiful, and suddenly his existence all made sense. He couldn’t stop looking at her, couldn’t possibly take his eyes off of that child, who was so incredible and so incredibly his.

 

He had a family. Blood of his blood. From her head to toes she was his. His and Emma’s.

 

“You have taken a liking to her as she has to you?”

 

Mary-Margaret was looking at him with suspicion, even if he doubted Emma told them anything. David was right next to him and he hadn’t run him through with a sword yet. Therefore, knowing the prince, she definitely hadn’t told them. Maybe Emma’s mother had somehow sensed the changed dynamic between them after their kiss. Maybe she put two and two together.

 

“I simply-“

 

The woman gave him a warning glance as if she knew much more than she could say and he bowed his head, choosing to remain silent. He would neither confirm or deny anything without Emma there.“Will you take her?”

 

“Aye. I mean...Of course.” She passed him the baby carefully and if he felt sparks when he first held her back when they found her, it was nothing compared to the whole blast of energy he was feeling now.

 

Hope’s little fist immediately gripped his collar. It felt like the tiniest caress and he again questioned what he did to deserve it. Deserve her.

 

“She’s crying since I came back here and Emma is too upset herself to help. Maybe seeing...Well, you, will help settle her. I guess she’s starting to get hungry though, but I have no idea what we should do about that. Maybe a little walk will settle her for the time being.”

 

Killian looked out at the baby’s blue eyes, -Emma was right, so similar to his- glistening with tears. He wanted to soothe her, he wanted to make her stop but he didn’t know how. She was so tiny, so fragile he felt the need to protect her from everything. It was his job to do so. Her cry was tearing his heart and at that moment he knew he would turn the world around for her. Now, in the future, at the end of time. Always. He’d bring down the moon and a million stars, resting them in her palms if only she asked, just so she could smile again.

 

“Hook? Are you okay?” David asked, seeing how he was frozen in his place. He must have been looking like a mad man, thoughts all over the place, eyes ready to cry at any moment.

 

“Aye, Dave.” He replied, even though the state he was in could hardly be described as “okay”. Such a plain, colorless word for the feelings flooding his heart as he held this baby, his daughter, for what it felt like the first time. “I’m fine.”

 

As Hope was resting against his chest, he never wished he had two hands more than he did that exact moment. His hook was adequate as a weapon but not nearly practical enough to hold a child, especially in a standing position where he could, bloody hell, he could drop her if he wasn’t careful enough. If he hurt her, if he hurt his own daughter, he would never forgive himself. Had Emma been there she’d tell him there was no such chance and that he’d do fine. But she wasn’t, she had apparently run off somewhere at the jungle, clearly upset and his heart ached for her as much as it did for Hope.

 

“Make sure to support her head.” Mary-Margaret said and he nodded, his good hand tightening in the back of Hope’s head. It was slightly harder when her little form was shaking with sobs which raked through his own chest, though and it felt like every muscle in his body was tense, concentrating on the task at hand.

 

He had no clear memory of his mother, or how she used to soothe him when he was little. His father was...well, not an example he’d want to follow, to say the least. And babies had no place in a ship where he had spent most of his life. “Shhh, little lass.” He tried experimentally, bringing her closer to him, which thankfully Hope seemed to like.

 

“What are we going to feed her?” Snow sighed, turning to her husband. “God, David, she’s our granddaughter. We should care for her. Emma is still not ready to do it.”

 

Killian knew that technically _he_ was the one responsible to tend to the baby’s needs, as he was her father, but he couldn’t tell the royal couple that. Emma should be there when they told them. And also....he didn’t know if Hope’s best chance in a caregiver was himself. He would soothe her, he would hold her till his arms grew numb but he couldn’t possibly compete with Mary-Margaret or David in their infant expertise. They didn’t raise Emma but they certainly knew more about babies than he did.

 

“We will find something.” David put his hand in her arm. “We will. Maybe Neal can help. He spent his teenage years here. Maybe when we find him...”

 

“We need to find him quickly then.”

 

“Tinkerbell should help.” Killian said, bouncing Hope in his arms the same way he had seen Mary-Margaret doing before.

 

Regina frowned at his words and David turned to her. “Regina, do you know something we don’t? What’s wrong?”

 

“Tinkerbell will never agree to help me. Or any cause that involves me.” She sighed. “Our past is...more than dark.”

 

“We won’t tell her about you then.” He replied. “You’ll stay there as we go with her.”

 

“It’s not that easy, Hook.”

 

“It sounds easy to me.” He replied, visibly still cross with her. “If that’s the best chance for Hope that’s exactly what you’re gonna do.”

 

He sensed all eyes on him and he felt so transparent, as if a few more minutes with the Charmings and Regina and everyone would just know he hadn’t just taken a liking at the little infant.

Hope’s loud scream at that moment saved him, realizing he had the perfect excuse to put some distance between them and devote his full attention to the little girl.

 

“A stroll might be good for her.” He let them know. “I’ll be right back.”

 

He breathed a sigh of relief when he was out of sight. He could focus on Hope now, without fearing he’d say or do something to reveal his and Emma’s secret. He felt more comfortable being alone with Hope. It was better for some parts of himself, those vulnerable parts he tried so hard to suppress for centuries and had now come back in waves, to stay hidden. Apart from when it’s Emma. He couldn't possibly hide from her.

 

“Don’t cry now, darling. Everything is okay.” He tried to use his hook to rub circles across her back, which was tricky to master but seemed to soothe her a bit. “What is it that you want? Are you hungry?” He looked down at her fingers still clutching his collar and reached to press a gentle kiss across her palm. “You’re so beautiful, you know that?” He smiled, resting his cheek on her head gently. “Just like your mum. So like her.”

 

He sensed the sound of his voice was helping Hope settle so he kept talking. “I’m your dad. I am not sure I deserve this title but you probably know me...you hopefully know me as your dad.”

 

Hopefully.

 

He didn’t want to voice that thought, but the fear was always present in his heart. What if he wasn’t there for her future? What if Emma sent him away, not wanting to have anything to do with him? What if she never told him about the little lass? He was a pirate after all, and quite a ruthless one if all the myths constructed around his name were anything to go by. Why would Emma want him anywhere near the innocent babe currently sitting in his arms? He couldn’t blame her yet the thought broke his heart.

 

A million possibilities of Hope growing up without him passed his mind. Him being dead, which, no matter how much of a survivor he believed he was, couldn’t be ruled out. Emma not telling him about her. Him messing up and Emma naturally taking her away from him even in the case she did let him be in her life initially.He sighed, thinking of all the ways his villainous nature which always seemed to follow him around could ruin what was probably, definitely, the most important thing in his life. “Sorry if I mess things up.” He whispered. “I hope ...well, it’s a long shot but I really do hope I’m a good father for you, in the future.”

 

Hope sighed against his neck and he chuckled, bringing himself back to the present.

 

“Well, we live in the here and now, isn’t that what they say, Hope?” He brought her closer, leaving a kiss on the top of her head, cherishing her as much as he possibly could, watching as her crying was turning to whimper. “Hope.” He considered it. “I bet your grandmother picked it. You mum isn’t the hopeful type, if I dare say so.” _Maybe_ _one_ _day_ _she_ _will_ _be_ , he silently prayed. “She brings everyone Hope though, more than she will ever know. She brought me hope too. In more ways than one.”

 

He marveled at how soft the baby felt. Her skin was velvet and her hair felt like feathers against his stubbled cheek. She weighed nothing in his arms, but his heart grew twice its size just by looking at her. So small, yet more precious than all the chests of jewels he had ever seen in his life.

 

He didn’t have anything to compare, but he thought Hope was a particularly cuddly baby. She was quieting down when someone held her against their chest and her little arms always found a way to wrap around the neck of anyone who was holding her.

 

Emma didn’t want to hold her like that most of the times, which Killian understood but Hope really didn’t and was getting confused, always grabbing her shirt to give her the sign she wanted a cuddle. Killian knew Emma would probably get to cuddle her a lot in the future to make up for it to her, but he tried to treasure the moments of himself holding her tight, still uncertain about their future relationship. He just wanted to keep these moments, her tiny body against his heart, -right where she belonged- her little pouts and heartwarming smiles. Just in case.

 

She was mostly settled now, breathing against his shoulder as he walked so deep in thought he almost didn’t notice Emma’s small frame sitting down on the ground before him, hugging her legs close to her chest.

 

“Hook...” Her eyes met his and he could notice she was crying. He remembered what Mary Margaret told him, about Emma needing space. Even if he yearned to hold her, he knew she wasn’t ready for any of that. He didn’t want to make her feel more pressure. Especially since he was holding the baby, which he could guess had a lot to do with her emotional breakdown.

 

“Sorry, love. It was never my intention to wander here. We’ll just ...We’ll just leave.” He turned around to go, until Emma’s small voice stopped him.

 

“Hook...Killian, you can stay.” She coughed trying to clear her voice of any signs that she was crying. “I mean, it’s getting darker, it’s safer if we head back to camp together anyway. I just needed a moment.” She lifted herself up, her hands slapping her thighs to remove any dust and dirt stuck on her jeans from sitting on the ground. He saw her eyes falling to the baby, now quiet, resting in his arms. She looked peaceful like that, serene.

 

“Sorry about that.” She nodded down at Hope. “I know it’s hard for you as it is for me. Did my mum make you babysit?”

 

Killian’s hold on Hope tightened. “Your mother suggested it, that’s true, but she wouldn’t settle and well, she thought maybe she’ll settle for me. Maybe she does in...in the future.”

 

He was nervous mentioning this little word to Emma. Future. He felt like approaching a wild animal that could bolt anytime if he said the wrong thing. He loved her though, her walls included. He had learned to work around them and hopefully, one day, she’d realize she didn’t need them up high when she was with him.

 

“Yeah it makes sense, I guess.” She stopped to look at the little girl again. “She looks better now. She couldn’t stop crying and...My mum thought I could help, but I couldn’t, everything I did was making it worse.”

 

“It’s alright, love. She’s fine now. You’re fine. You were just stressed.”

 

“She’s hungry.”

 

“She is.” He gave her a small nod. Emma was tense. He could see that.

 

“This is such a mess. God, Killian what if something happens to her? What if she starves and I can’t save her and she never goes back to the future and it’s my fault.”

 

“Swan, please, calm down. Nothing like that is gonna happen, I promise you.” Emma’s thoughts terrified him but he knew they would never let Hope starve. Not in a million years. That much he was sure about.

 

“Future me is going to come to the past and murder me. And she’ll be right to.”

 

“Hope is going to be alright, love. We’ll go back to the camp and find her something she can eat. Or drink, to be precise.” She almost protested but he stopped her. “We will find it. We always make do, don’t we? After the little one is tended for, we’ll talk to your parents and Regina and figure out a plan.”

 

Emma breathed out, trying to calm down enough to believe in Killian’s plan. He was the least panicking one right now and she knew the plan of the least panicking person was usually the most reasonable.

 

“We’ll get to Neal.”

 

“That’s the most voted course of action so far, aye.”

 

Emma sighed. “I want to find Neal, I really do. I want to make sure that he’s okay. That after all this ordeal Henry will still have his dad when we go home. But between Henry and the baby and ...everything, I feel like the world is crumbling down and going after Neal, fighting Pan again to free him in the process and then explaining all these to him after will just be the cherry on top, disorienting us even more, you know?

 

Killian knew exactly what Emma meant. Not only it could be quite dangerous for them to go after Neal with Hope, but the other man would also have way too many questions, especially for him and Emma that he wasn’t sure they could answer. They didn’t even know the answer themselves.

 

“I know, love.” He said. “It’s yet another hardship we have to go through.”

 

“Yeah. But it’s what you said, we have to. There’s no way we’re not saving him if he’s here. I won’t let Henry lose anything more.” She replied firmly.

 

He couldn’t help but smile at her words. He admired her selflessness. He admired her spirit. It’s one of the first things that drew him to her, and seeing it shining through despite her emotional turmoil was filling him with hope.

 

“There’s the fight that I lo-“ He stopped himself. “Like.”

 

“I messed up back in the camp, you know?”

 

“Was it Hope that got you so upset?” When she didn’t reply he continued. “I realized there was a fight. What did Regina tell you, love?”

 

“It doesn’t matter what she said.” Emma seemed like she didn’t want to discuss this particular thing and he wouldn’t press her. “I shouldn’t have lost my temper.” She sighed. “You know, Regina scared her. She started shouting right in her face, which only made her cry louder. She’s worried about Henry and I get it, I am too. More than I can put into words. I just... I never asked for this. I don’t wanna have to deal with this.”

 

“I know, Swan. You have every right not to. It doesn’t make you any less of a hero.”

 

“I hated that she scared her, I’m not a monster, I hated seeing her like that. And instead of doing something to calm her down, instead of trying to calm down myself,I just...I lost my temper as well and shouted too.”

 

“That’s also a reason why you left? You felt guilty?”

 

“Am I not the mother of the year?” She let out a dry humorless laugh. “My one kid being abducted by freaking Peter Pan of all people and the other ...well. Not being able to even hold or comfort the other.”

 

“Emma, don’t do this to yourself, love.” He said softly, holding her gaze. “Don’t beat yourself up like that.”

 

“I fail, Hook. I fail in the most important thing I should succeed at. Protecting my children.”

 

“You’re a wonderful mother to Henry, Swan. You’re doing everything in your power to save him and you will, I know it. I can’t think any person more powerful than you.”

 

“But-“ Emma tried to interrupt but he didn’t let her.

 

“No, Emma, please don’t deny this. See how you united us all. You were the only one who could. If someone can save Henry it’s you, love.”

 

Emma sighed in defeat, but he could see she was not really convinced. “I still let it happen though. I let them take him. And with her...”

 

Killian had noticed she never referred to Hope by her name anymore. It was “her” or “the baby” at best. Maybe that made it real, more real than she could handle, scarier.

 

“You’re not her mother yet. It’s okay if you can’t hold her or soothe her or even if you can’t address her by her name.”

 

Emma looked down. “You noticed.”

 

“Open book.” He smiled trying to lighten the mood. “And it’s okay, Emma. You had so little time to process this.”

 

“You handle it better than I do and you had even less time to process.” Emma gestured with her hand to the baby. “You’re already bonding or...I don’t know.”

 

“Emma.” He breathed out. He wished he could tell her.

 

Tell her how it was easier for him to love the baby because he loved her. Because since he learned it was possible, the future with Hope was something he yearned for, not something that terrified him. Tell her that from the moment they kissed he wanted to be everything for her, he wanted to change, be someone deserving of her love. Tell her that from the moment the baby appeared he wished -even if he never believed- that in a crazy turn of events it was his, he wished his future blessed him this much. Tell her about his own insecurities and how he tried to chase them away by rocking Hope against his chest now because he didn’t know if he’d be able to in the future.

 

“It’s different.” He ended up saying. Safe choice.

 

“I just want to send her back. To the family that loves her. I don’t want to take care of her now. I can’t. Gods, I’m a terrible mother.”

 

“Swan, I wish you could see yourself from my eyes, love. You’re an amazing mother. I’ve seen the love and passion with which you love and I’m sure you will feel the same for her, in the future.”

 

“Yeah? Then where am I? The future me, where is she? I’m supposed to be her mother and I let her be taken away to the past. To Neverland, to the most dangerous place where she could have easily been-“ Her voice broke. “Hell, she could have been killed if we didn’t find her. An amazing mother, right? I can’t protect my kids now or in the future.”

 

Killian could see unshed tears in her eyes, his heart breaking for her. “Love, that’s what concerns you most isn’t it? That you fail as a mother, in the future.”

 

“If I didn’t, my future self would be here fighting to get her back. It seems like my future self messed up more than I did. At least I’m trying to save Henry.”

 

“I can assure you future Emma is fighting with all her might to get this little one back. I know her as I know you.” He considered his next words carefully. “And if...if I’m there, if I know about her in the future, I know I’ll be fighting alongside you. I’ve done terrible things in my life Emma but I’d never abandon my own child, l know that. No matter what.”

 

“You’ll know.” Emma replied, even before he had time to finish his phrase. Seeing his confused expression she continued. “About her, you’ll know. I’ll tell you.”

 

“How can you be so certain? I’m a pirate and-”

 

“You deserve to know, I believe that now and it won’t change. I would have told Neal about Henry to if he...” Stayed. Cared. Wanted to know. So many things crossed her mind but she just shook her head, refusing to let her mind wander there. “No matter what your past was and no matter what happens with us in the future I know I won’t keep you away from her. Neither of you deserves that.”

 

“Emma.” Her name sounded like a prayer from his lips, voice coated with emotion. “Thank you. You have no idea how much that means.”

 

“This is gonna sound weird, but after everything that happened today, after all that we learnt...I’m...I’m just glad it’s you.”

 

Emma gave him a small teary smile. He deserved as much. She was terrified, she was stressed and hurting, but looking at the gentle way Hook cradled the baby in his arms, she knew he’d love her. She suspected he already did. And despite how she felt, that little girl wasn’t to blame.She deserved to grow up loved. Something she didn’t have and something she herself couldn’t give to her son for those first ten years of his life. Even if she failed as a mother, she succeeded in one thing. She managed to give her daughter a loving father.

 

It was the least she could do for her.

 

_For_ _Hope_ , she braced herself, the name forming in her mind for the first time since they learned the truth.

 

It was the least she could do for Hope.

 

“Love, I -“

 

“Killian.” Emma stopped him before he had a chance to reply. “Someone is there.” Sure enough, something was moving behind the bush across them. She couldn’t figure out why it was, the sky already too dark to see clearly.

 

She immediately grasped the handle of her cutlass. “Killian, stay back with her.” She whispered, hoping whoever was there would at least leave Hope unharmed. “Who’s there?”

 

She hoped it was her mother, or her dad or even Regina. An ally. Yet she knew they’d have come out already, had it been them.

 

“Love, please don’t go closer.”

 

“Come out!” Emma shouted, her voice echoing in the jungle. If it was Pan she’d play his game, as long as it gave her some clues on Henry’s whereabouts.

 

However, the figure that started walking towards them looked nothing like Pan.

 

“Emma?”

 

She gasped at the familiar voice she thought she’d never hear again.

 

_Neal_.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading❤️ I hope you liked it. If you noticed any mistakes or typos, it was because I didn’t have time to properly proofread the way I usually do, considering the only free time I had to finish and post the chapter was now, aka 1 hour before my friends arrive for my birthday party XD I’d love to hear your thoughts!


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys :) thank you so much for your patience regarding this work as well as for your amazing feedback that always warms my heart! I hope you enjoy this chapter, where huge revelations are happening! *wink wink*
> 
> You could consider this chapter to be anti-Neal, but then again, not really, since it’s not very far from canon. Considering his behavior in S2-3 I tried to write him the way I think he’d behave if he learnt Emma and Killian had (will have) a baby. I hope you don’t think I’m too harsh with him.
> 
> Note: I changed the rating to Teen, considering some adult words or innuendos that might be present at the work. But nothing really extreme XD

Emma was looking at Neal from head to toe as if she couldn’t believe the fact that he was standing there in front of her. Alive. Free. 

 

“What are you doing here? Did you escape? Did you...”

 

Neal ran towards her, reaching to wrap his arms around her and she reciprocated, whispering that she was glad he was alright to his ear, opting out of saying anything else she felt. She didn’t lie. She was happy he was okay. For Henry more than anything else. 

 

“Pan let me go. He told me where to find you, Ems...I don’t...l have no idea why he did that.”

 

Emma’s jaw ticked. She might have had an idea. Pan was more manipulative than she could ever think of. She exchanged a quick look with Killian realizing he was thinking of the exact same thing. The reason why Pan brought Neal to them is because that’s the thing they feared would set them off course. He had ears all over the island, and they talked about it just a little while ago. He had a plan, that much was clear.

 

In a matter of seconds, she watched Neal’s eyes travel to Killian and while he didn’t look particularly surprised with his presence, something different seemed to shock him. The same thing that shocked all of them. 

 

“Is that a...?” He muttered. “It can’t be.” 

 

_Denial_ . She was there not too long ago. She wished they could move to acceptance already. 

 

“A baby. Aye, mate. It is indeed.” 

 

She felt Killian’s hold on Hope tightening protectively while the other man was staring at the infant wide-eyed. Emma thought Killian would be territorial with Hope and she could never blame him for that. It was his child. Hadn’t she been territorial with Henry when she found him? She still was sometimes. And Hope had been through more the last few hours than she had been through her entire life, most probably. Killian was worried, as much as she was. He was just better at expressing it in a way other than shouting. Or running. Or both. 

 

“How long was I gone? It just felt like days to me and...” He stuttered, struggling to find words. “Did...did someone have a baby?”

 

_Almost_ . She wanted to say. Not yet. 

 

“She’s from the future.” Emma sighed, bracing herself for what came next. It was better if she didn’t beat around the bush. They didn’t have nearly enough time for this conversation. “Apparently she’s my daughter from the future.” 

 

“From the fut- Wait, yours?” He gasped. “ _Your_   daughter?”

 

“Right.” She confirmed. Saying it out loud helped make her come to terms with it easier. “I know it’s crazy and trust me it seems even crazier to me. It seems insane and it’s just...quite terrifying if you ask me, but that’s the truth.”

 

Neal’s frown quickly got replaced by a smile and Emma raised her eyebrow in confusion. “Oh Emma, if that means what I think it means, it seems wonderful to me.”

 

Why could she having a daughter in the future seemed wonderful to him?

 

_Oh shit_ . He thought the baby was his. The same thing her mother thought. But her mother didn’t know their story, their break up. Mary-Margaret had probably imagined them as high school sweethearts who drifted away or something. Some details were hard to share. But Neal did know everything and he still-

 

“What do you think it means, Bae?” Killian spoke for the first time since Neal appeared. She sensed hostility in his voice even if he tried hard to conceal it. She knew he had a history with Neal, with Baelfire, that he used to hold him close to his heart so long ago and that was probably the reason why he attempted to sound calm and collected, with questionable success. 

 

“I think it means I came here to find one child, and I ended up having two.”

 

“Neal, we don’t...” Emma looked at Killian, silently hoping he understood why she couldn’t say the whole truth. Not yet. It wasn’t because she was ashamed, it wasn’t because she didn’t want Killian to be her father. She did want that, she told him as much. “We don’t know the father.” 

 

Neal’s grin didn’t waver for a second. “We have our son together already, Emma. It’s only natural we become a family in every sense of the word in the future.”

 

He looked so happy and Emma felt the irony of it all deep in her bones. Neal didn’t want to stay for her back when she was seventeen. He didn’t want to settle down and he certainly didn’t want to create a family. He wasn’t there for their son. Granted, he didn’t know but Emma wouldn’t have kept it a secret if he cared enough to visit her, have some friend check on her in jail if he was worried of getting caught himself, or even possibly tried to find her after she was out. 

 

She actually wished for it, during the first months of her sentence. She was so angry, but while a part of her despised him, another one still held onto hope, prayed that it was all part of his plan. That he would rescue her, she would tell him about their baby, he’d be so happy about it and all three of them would start their lives again somewhere no one knew them. He knew where she was, she was reminding herself back then. If he wanted, he would come. 

 

He never came. And she never forgave him. She doesn’t think she ever will. 

 

“Neal, I don’t think you’re her father.” 

 

He gave her a doubtful look. “You just said you don’t know who it is. How do you know it’s not me?”

 

When she didn’t reply, Neal smiled, that kind of smile she had come to know as his

‘I’m winning the argument’ smile. He always used this smile and while he could patronize teenage Emma, adult her really wasn’t having it. 

 

“Because I know our story ended twelve years ago. It really did end there for me, Neal.”

 

His face fell at that, looking remorseful as he took a step closer to her. Emma glanced at Killian, who was clearly uncomfortable, fidgeting with the sleeve of Hope’s onesie. She felt like he wanted to say something but bit his tongue, knowing this conversation should be held between her and Neal. “Ems, I know I screwed up with Henry and I’ll never forgive myself but I’m here now. And I’ll always be. I’ll never stop fighting for you and our family.”

 

Emma noticed how Neal was never mentioning how he screwed  _her_   over. He seemed sorry he wasn’t there for Henry but he never acknowledged the effect this had on her. She didn’t think it truly registered to him. She still remembered the moment they reunited in New York. She expected him to apologize, but instead, he started yelling at her for bringing his dad in the city. It was when she realized that even though these twelve years had totally changed her, they hadn’t made a difference to him.

 

“Swan, I think we should get back to the camp. Your parents will be worried.”

 

She welcomed the interruption and Hook’s comforting voice in her ears. She was thinking of him. Emma would be livid if someone tried to convince her Henry is someone else’s son and not hers. And Killian was quiet during most of the exchange. She didn’t know how much more he could manage to hold himself back.

 

“Emma and I have some family business to discuss, Hook.” Neal turned to him, spitting the word family as if it was a weapon against him. “Why don’t you go ahead and tell them we’ll be coming right up?”

 

“Actually,” Emma started. “Let me say something to Killian first.”

 

She noticed Neal’s eyebrows shooting up at the use of Killian’s given name but whatever thoughts he had about it, he decided not to speak them out loud. Instead, he gave her a tight-lipped nod as Emma walked up to Killian to talk to him in private. 

 

“Swan,” He whispered. “What do you want me to do? Whatever it is, I’ll do it.”

 

“Killian, I need you to go back to the camp.” He gave her a doubtful look, but let her continue. “Please. Fill them in with what happened. Tell them about Neal. Ask Regina if she can perform a paternity spell. We need to get this over with.”

 

He didn’t seem happy to be leaving, and she suspected he was even less happy to be leaving her with Neal, but he nodded, respecting her desire. “Alright, love. As you wish.”

 

Emma’s breath caught, wishing this particular phrase didn’t have such an effect on her. Her toes curled at the memory of their kiss, wishing she could feel his lips against hers again. Maybe if Neal hadn’t arrived in the least opportune moment, she would have. 

 

Without even realizing, her eyes traveled at the infant cradled in his arms. “Still sleeping?”

 

“Aye, I think the poor lass exhausted herself with crying.”

 

Her heart tightened at the thought. She stroked Hopes forehead with her fingers, wishing more than anything she stayed calm. Wishing both her and Henry held on a little bit longer. 

 

“Emma?” Neal asked impatient, and it was only then that the bubble broke and she remembered he was there too. She turned to Killian one last time. 

 

“And Killian?”

 

“What, love?”

 

She smiled. “Thank you. For everything”

 

As Hook started to leave, he stopped in front of Neal, giving him an earnest smile. 

 

“I’m glad you’re okay, Bae. I really am.”

 

He meant it, Emma could tell, detecting no lie in his voice. Killian was a good man and if she ever had doubts about this in the past, given the reputation that followed him, every day since they met he was proving her more and more wrong. 

 

Neal smiled back even if it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Thanks, man. I am too.”

 

It was Neal who broke the uncomfortable silence between them, a few seconds after Killian left. 

 

“I’m not sure I feel okay with Hook holding her.”

 

Anger boiled inside Emma at his words and it felt like New York all over again. He had known Henry for overall three minutes before he declared that she couldn’t make decisions about her son without him anymore. Neal always thought he could walk back into her life and be a boyfriend or a dad to Henry as if he never left, but that was not how it worked. 

 

She would never stop him from being a father to their son, she didn’t, not for a minute, but he often tested her limits. It had been hard enough finding a stepping with Regina to parent Henry together. 

 

And Hope wasn’t even his, she had specifically told him so. 

 

“She likes him.” She replied simply. She didn’t need to explain herself. “She’s calm with him.”

 

“What does he know about babies?”

 

“Not less than you and I do, that’s for sure.” She snapped back at him.

 

Neal sighed, frustration evident on his face. “You don’t need to be so defensive over him, Emma. I just mentioned a fact. What happened to you?”

 

“What happened to me? Our son is missing. I’m a mess, Neal. And you aren’t making things any easier.”

 

“We can figure things out, together. Remember what you told me, right before the portal sucked me in?”

 

She remembered the ‘I love you’ well. She remembered the desperation over losing a huge part of her past, a huge part of her son’s present and future. 

 

“I was scared, Neal. I panicked.”

 

“Papa used to say that’s when we are the most honest.” Emma sighed. She wouldn’t take life lessons from Rumplestiltskin.“Look, Ems. I don’t mean to pressure you. We have our son to worry for, I get it. But don’t lock me out.”

 

“I don’t ‘lock you out’, Neal.” She huffed frustrated. “You just have to understand that exploring the nature of our relationship just isn’t a priority right now.”

 

“I know. But imagine what a shock this whole thing is for me. Pan freeing me, which I thought was crazy enough by itself and then coming to you to learn you’ve had another baby.”

 

“ Will have .” She corrected him.

 

“Will have another baby, right. And the last I remember from you is holding me tight while whispering that you love me. How can I not think the most logical explanation? We have this thing going between us for more than a decade Emma. It brought us our son and hopefully a daughter as well.”

 

“We don’t have ‘this thing’ going for ten years Neal. We hadn’t even seen each other since...” She wouldn’t say it but Neal knew if the look of shame that passed from his eyes was any indication. Since he put her in jail. 

 

“I never stopped loving you.”

 

“We need to focus on Henry.”

 

“Of course. Of course, we do. We can talk about the rest when we are back home. It’s just enough for me to know you gave me another chance to prove to you that I’ve changed. All the other things will come in their own time.”

 

“Neal. No.” He looked surprised for a moment, trying to mutter some complaint but she didn’t give him time to talk. “Just no. You don’t get to walk back into my life like nothing ever happened. Shit happened, Neal. I was seventeen when you left. Seventeen. A kid. Almost just 5 years older than Henry is.” She shocked him with that, she could tell. She took a deep breath to continue. “I accepted the fact that you’re back, I let you find your place in Henry’s life and I’ll never take that back. But to  _my_   life? There’s no place left, Neal.”

 

Emma turned around without letting Neal utter a single word, leaving him stunned behind, just hoping he’d follow her back to the camp with the others.

 

She could pass over anything but this smugness that he’d win her back because of Hope. That’s what drove her over the edge. Where Killian was giving her space, even after she announced her suspicions about Hope to him, Neal was suffocating her and even more so, when she told she was certain he and Hope weren’t related. 

 

It was when they reached the camp that one more thing hit her. 

 

Neal was so certain she was her daughter’s father, yet he didn’t even care to know Hope’s name.

 

 

————

Mary-Margaret saw them first, standing up to embrace her. “Emma, here you are, thank god. I was so worried.” Emma returned the hug, even a little awkwardly. She wasn’t the hugging type especially when she was in such an emotional turmoil.

“Sorry, I fled. I didn’t want to upset you.”

“No Emma, we are sorry. Regina...” She prompted and to her surprise, the woman actually mumbled an apology, though without turning to look at Emma. It was more than Emma thought she would do and she gave a small nod in return. 

 

“Neal, I’m so happy you’re okay! Hook told us Pan let you free.”

 

“He did.” Neal replied, smiling at the other woman. “I’m so happy to be able to fight for my son again.”

 

David frowned. “I have to admit that’s a little sketchy. Why would Pan release a prisoner? Henry’s father of all people. The one who knows the island best. Do you think he has a plan and we are falling right into the trap?”

 

He did have a plan, Emma thought. And they did fall right into it. She and Killian had started finding balance after Hope’s appearance. It wouldn’t be long till they’d get back on track.Neal though, he was the perfect opportunity to disrupt the waters again. 

 

“Maybe.” Neal replied skeptically. “But regardless, we are more people now. And I know Neverland like the back of my hand. Whatever trap he was trying to get us into, we can turn it against him.”

 

Emma knew up to a point he was right. Strategically speaking, it wouldn’t hurt having him there and it definitely wouldn’t hurt crossing an item off their list, about saving him. At this point, she was almost sure Pan or one of his Lost Boys eavesdropped her and Killian’s conversation about Neal and the hardships his appearance would ensue. So he brought him to them when they were least expecting it before they even had time to prepare, to tell the rest of the team about Hope and Killian, to regroup. But Emma did hope that he’d be helpful when the whole issue about Hope’s paternity would finally be figured out. 

 

“Did Pan say something when he freed you?” They still desperately needed as much information as they could. 

 

“Only where to find Emma. Nothing more.” Neal ran his hand through his hair. “I asked about Henry and about my father too, but he told me to go before he changed his mind. Where did you find the baby, Emma?”

 

“I didn’t find Hope. Mary-Margaret and David did.”

 

“You named her Hope?” Neal chuckled. “You hate cheesy names.” 

 

“It’s not cheesy.” Her mum protested. “I find it beautiful, sweetheart.” She squeezed her arm encouragingly as if she was taking her side on an argument that wasn’t even taking place yet. Emma didn’t have any memory of naming the baby Hope to defend her choice in the first place. 

 

“Um...Thanks.” She shrugged. Chances were Mary-Margaret herself had picked the name. But she wasn’t complaining.Maybe at first she found it cheesy too but the more time that passed the more beautiful the name sounded for the little girl. In a strange way, she radiated the very thing she was named after. 

 

“We heard her crying while Emma and Hook were away.”

 

“Away?” He raised an eyebrow at her but Killian was fast to reply before she did. 

 

“Aye, mate.  Away . As in, not with the rest of the group.”

 

Neal glared at him and Killian glared right back. She failed to pinpoint the exact moment this bravado contest had started between them but she could sense it was there. 

 

“She only had a baby blanket with her name stitched on it.” David continued, oblivious to what was happening. “Just like Emma’s.”

 

“You had a baby blanket?”

 

Emma’s mouth hung open at the question. She knew Neal wasn’t the kind of boyfriend to remember tiny details about her but this one was big. It was the only thing she had from her childhood and he was one of the few people to whom she had shown it. 

 

“Yeah, Neal, you know that. You’ve seen it.”

 

“Sorry, Ems. You are right. It’s been forever since I did.” 

 

She didn’t reply. She didn’t have anything to say, really. The time Neal’s indifference hurt her was long gone. He had forgotten her birthday when they were together, and she literally told him when they were the week before. That one pained her. Now though? It didn’t affect her. 

 

“Pan told us it was Emma’s daughter and she also exhibited some of her light magic.”

 

Neal looked at her again, doubt in his voice. “Wow. And you’re certain?”

 

“I am.” Now she was. She denied it at first but now she felt the same certainty about Hope being her kid as she did for Henry. Even if the former was by far harder to cope with than the latter. 

 

“Hook told me you want me to perform a paternity test.” Regina interrupted, Emma for once being grateful she did.

 

“You can?” 

 

Regina rolled her eyes. “Who do you think I am? These kind of spells are from the ones you teach to children. Of course I can. I just didn’t know there was anyone to test until now. I assumed her father would be from the future.”

 

So there were actual paternity tests in the enchanted forest. That was convenient. If Emma had learned something about her parents’ realm was that where science and technology were missing, magic took over. Not that she would trade technology for anything. She couldn’t imagine how magic could fix the outdoor plumbing issue. And she frankly didn’t want to know.

 

“You can test me.” Neal volunteered and Emma should have guessed nothing of their previous conversations would stuck. Or maybe he hoped still. Maybe he thought her outburst and pent up frustration towards him was denial for what he considered to be obvious. 

 

“Well, I already guessed that was the plan.” 

 

Emma took a deep breath. “I need to talk to you.” She exchanged a look with Killian, which told her everything she needed to know. She shook her head at him, silently letting him know that she had this. He didn’t need to step in. 

 

Seeing the proximity of him and her father though, she thought that maybe he needed to step  _back_ . Literally. Just a bit. 

 

“Emma?” David spoke, as if on cue. “What’s wrong?”

 

Mary-Margaret was looking at her with such intensity she felt like she was seeing right through her soul, like she already knew what she was going to say. 

 

“I kissed Killian.”

 

Her father was definitely not expecting this because he dropped the flask of water he was holding to the ground, the liquid running down around their feet. “You did what?”

 

“I kissed Killian.” She repeated. “When we were alone. When you found Hope.” She tried not to focus on their shocked expressions and brave on. “And I didn’t plan to share this with you, I truly didn’t. The only reason I do is that...I think that maybe...I think Killian is the man who fathered Hope.”

 

“What?” Her father and Neal replied at the same time. 

 

“Oh, Emma.” Her mother exclaimed. “I knew it. It’s been all hidden looks and hushed conversations between you.”

 

“You said you didn’t want to have a future with me because of the mistakes I made, but you get with him? Damnit, Emma, his whole life is one huge mistake.” Neal shook his head, covering his face with his hand. “I can’t believe you let him knock you up.”

 

“Watch your mouth when you talk about Emma, mate.” Killian spat. “And I’ve indeed made mistakes to last a lifetime but I’d never, ever hurt either her or the baby.”

 

“Because you’re just wonderful with children, aren’t you? I still remember the time you sold me to the lost boys as bright as day.”

 

“At least I didn’t abandon my teenage pregnant girlfriend in jail.”

 

Killian was sure perceptive because she never told him that. She had never told anyone that. He knew she was in jail, he knew Neal had somehow hurt her horribly, he probably did the math in his head, considering Henry’s age as well. It scared her still sometimes, how he could read her. How no one else but him could. 

 

“I didn’t know she was pregnant!”

 

“Are you out of your mind? How does that change anything?”

 

“Stop it.” Emma screamed. “Both of you. You don’t get to act as if this is a competition. It’s not. This is hard as it is, without you fighting for territory like animals.”

 

They looked embarrassed.

 

“You are right. I apologize, love.” Killian said, his eyes stuck to the ground. 

 

David seemed menacing when he turned to look at him. “You have a lot to apologize for, Hook.” 

 

Emma sighed. “You can both be tested if you want. But from the moment we find out officially, this...” She motioned with her hands between the two men. “This will be over.You’ll accept the result, bury whatever feud is brewing between you and work together. For Henry and Hope. It’s not a contest. Do you think I love it when I see two grown men standing here fighting, actually fighting, about who is going to father my child?”

 

“You better listen to her.” Her father warned. 

 

“Will you behave so we can get this over with?” 

 

They both nodded at her. “Good.” She leaned in to take Hope from Killian’s arms so Regina could do whatever spell it was that she had to do. She had no idea but she hoped that it was quick. And painless. Definitely painless. And safe for infants. 

 

She realized she was worrying about Hope more and more as time went by. Maybe it was a “mom” thing in general. When you’re a mom, worrying is somehow programmed in you. Whether it is your kid or someone else’s. Or your kid that you didn’t know you had till a few hours ago.

 

“Regina...” Emma prompted, waiting for the woman to start. 

 

“I just need a strand of hair from each one of them.”

 

“Do we have scissors?” Mary-Margaret asked, and Regina rolled her eyes.

 

“We don’t have all day. Just pluck the hair out.” She turned to the two men who reluctantly did as she said, with grimaces of discomfort evident on their faces.

 

Regina walked towards her, ready to do the same to Hope but Emma flinched.

 

“Can’t you like, retrieve the hair with magic or something?” The other woman scoffed but with a flick of her wrist,blonde strands of Hope’s hair were in her hand, and Hope didn’t even realize. 

 

_Good_ . She wasn’t a fan of Regina or anyone pulling hair out of Hope’s head. As if this baby couldn’t possibly be traumatized more. She gave her a sympathetic smile and adjusted her better in her arms.

 

“You could have said that a tad sooner, love.” Killian joked but she could hear the nerves in his voice. He was sure she was his daughter, he told her as much, but she could sense that the test was filling him with dread. 

 

“You.” David turned to him. “You should stop flirting with my daughter.”

 

“I didn’t flirt, mate, not this time.”

 

“Not any time.”

 

Killian looked at the baby in Emma’s lap. “That I’m afraid I can’t promise.”

 

“As far as I am concerned,” Her father said loudly for all of them to hear. “whoever’s this baby is, the stork brought it.”

 

Emma wasn’t nearly ready for this conversation. Dad David was one thing, but overprotective dad David was more than what she could handle.

 

“So, how does this work?” She asked, eager to get this thing done with. 

 

In a second, two identical cylindrical vials appeared in front of Regina, filled with what looked like clear water. She carefully put one strand of hair from Hope to each of them. “I’m putting the two men’s hair in the vials.” She started. “Should the liquid turn blue, it means the man is not the father. If it turns red, I suppose congratulations are in order. Let’s all collectively just hope one of these vials is red so we can finally get this over with.”

 

For Emma, it felt like she was staring in one of these paternity shows she always hated seeing on tv. She used to wonder why people would want to broadcast something so personal about them or their child on national television. 

 

She also used to think that deep down these women knew who fathered their baby. Naturally, she had no doubts regarding Henry, Neal being the only man she had ever been with at the time but even now she felt like she had no doubts with Hope either. 

 

She should get some extra points for that, considering she hadn’t even been intimate with Killian yet, but she still knew. And alright, it’s not like she followed those paternity shows but she was sure no one had ever beaten this record of hers. 

 

“So who wants to go first?”

 

“I will.” Neal replied and Regina nodded, taking the first vial in her hand. 

 

Neal was shifting at his feet uncomfortably and Killian’s eyes stayed glued to the ground. Emma was confident he wasn’t the father yet she still held her breath while Regina used her free hand to put Neal’s hair in the vial, casting whatever silent spell she needed to do, until, sure enough, the liquid inside turned a deep shade of blue. 

 

It didn’t resemble the blue of Hope or Killian’s eyes. It was dark, almost black.

 

She watched Neal’s face fall and that was the time she wished she  _did_   actually watch the paternity shows because she had no idea how to act when someone was revealed as not the father of her baby. Neal looked sad but Emma doubted it was because Hope wasn’t his own. It’s not like he had paid her that much attention so far, even if he was convinced about being her dad. (That was another thing that confirmed to Emma what she already knew. Killian was besotted with Hope since he first looked at her.) She knew Neal was mostly sad for the “second chance” he was till then certain he’d get with her that was now ripped away from him. 

 

“I told you, Neal.” 

 

“It’s fine.” He shrugged. “It was a long shot. We still have our son. And you never know what happens in the future.”

 

“We have Henry and he will always connect us. But there’s no future.”

 

“Because you want to be with him.” His tone was almost accusatory as he motioned at Killian. 

 

“Because I don’t want to be with you.”

 

“You denied it before, Emma, but when you said you loved me, I still think that was true.”

 

Shit . 

 

She saw Killian flinch at Neal’s words even if he tried to mask his expression as one of nonchalance. That was why Neal said it, Emma wasn’t stupid. He said it for Killian. She wished Killian hadn’t heard that. Or at the very least she wished she could tell him the whole story. That she was terrified out of her mind for Henry to lose his dad, that it was the first thing she thought of saying, that she didn’t even think what it meant. She had felt her insecurities creep up like they often did at moments of panic and it was like she was seventeen again. If she loved Neal, it was not, it wouldn’t ever be as anything more than her son’s father. 

 

And for a reason she desperately wanted Killian to know that. 

 

“I’ve told you already, Neal.” She sighed frustrated. “Please, just stop focusing on any kind of future for us, and start dedicating this energy in the future of our son.”

 

She wanted to tell Neal so many things. How the future for them died the moment he abandoned her in jail, how if seventeen-year-old Emma knew better that “future” would have died long before that. How she hoped in the most secret place of her heart that he was dead because that would finally bring closure for that wound that had reopened with him coming back.

 

But she wouldn’t create a scene. Not at that moment. Not when Henry and Hope were in danger. Not when Regina was holding the second vial in her hand, waiting for her to give her the word to proceed.

 

Neal nodded at her words and she realized he had the same thought as her. Whatever arguments he had to say, it was neither the time nor the place. “Alright.”

 

“Can you test Killian?” 

 

Emma asked Regina, before walking a few steps to stand beside him. He instantly put his hand on the baby’s back, as if he had already missed not holding her. If Emma didn’t know any better she’d say they look like a family. The craziest thing was that biologically they were one. But she knew so well that biology didn’t always make a family. Maybe Killian and the baby were one in the future, maybe even she, Henry and the baby were one too, but the three of them? 

 

She noticed her mother grasping her father’s hand and while it wasn’t an unusual gesture for them, Emma felt like they were nervous about the reveal as well. David wasn’t thrilled with the prospect of Killian being the dad, but he honestly wasn’t thrilled with Neal either. She didn’t think he would deem anyone good enough, a father thing he missed doing to her when she was sixteen. She could really use this at sixteen. But then she probably wouldn’t have Henry. So it worked out for the better somehow, you could say.

 

Killian was still caressing Hope’s back -as if he was using her to anchor himself down and keep his nerves at bay- when Regina put his hair on the second vial. 

 

For a few seconds nothing happened and everyone looked at each other. It was supposed to turn either red or blue. Regina didn’t say anything about the liquid staying transparent. Was it some kind of failure in the spell? Why didn’t it work? 

 

Emma was ready to ask when she noticed the vial shaking. It was actually, really shaking like it was trying to fly from Regina’s grasp, like it had a life of its own. The strands inside were spinning and tangling together till she couldn’t make them out anymore. Regina tightened her hold on it, clearly surprised but not nearly as much as the rest of them. 

 

“What’s happening?”

 

A light came from the vial, so blinding Emma covered Hope’s face with her free hand. It felt like longer, but just a couple of seconds later, everything seemed to settle, a deep crimson red coloring the liquid, the vial again staying put in Regina’s hand. 

 

Emma let out a breath she hadn’t realized she was holding for so long. Killian squeezed Hope’s arm and Emma knew he wanted nothing but to hold her at that moment, swiftly passing her to his arms where he instantly snuggled her close. She heard the faintest whisper, something resembling ‘I love you’ coming from his lips as he looked at Hope but she wasn’t sure.

 

“You didn’t tell us this would happen.” Emma protested, referring to the shaking vial incident to distract herself from the overwhelming scene of Hope and Killian in front of her. 

 

“Honestly, I couldn’t have suspected.” Regina said, and Emma knew she was honest. “I’ve only encountered this a few times in spells like that, in any spells that require two people actually.”

 

David’s brow shot up. “Isn’t that the way all successful spells go?” 

 

“No, actually. I mean, the liquid would turn red in all successful spells, but the shaking, the light...that isn’t the usual.”

 

“What is it then?” Killian spoke, taking his eyes off Hope for the first time. 

 

“True love.”

 

“True love?” 

 

“Yes. True love creates magic. It wouldn’t show in a normal DNA test obviously, but when two hearts are so deeply connected, the magic of such a spell can trigger the magic binding them. Thus the true love manifestation you saw. The light emission.”

 

“And the shaking?”

 

“It is of the same cause. The infinite magic of the two hearts who were brought together, fighting to be released.”

 

“You mean that Hook and Hope...” Mary-Margaret said in disbelief. “Like Emma and Henry.”

 

“That’s right.” The woman confirmed and Emma turned to see Killian’s eyes filled with tears. He looked stricken at the revelation, words clearly failing him because he kept opening his mouth to say something before changing his mind and closing it again. 

 

Emma could understand him, having been through the same with Henry. You love your kid, you love your kid more than life itself but you can’t fathom the fact that this love is something that surpasses human emotion, and it becomes magic, light, and healing. She didn’t believe this thing even existed until it was she who had it. She could guess that Killian, despite their vastly different backgrounds, was also overwhelmed with the fact that he could be the source of something that pure and magical.

 

She fought her own tears as well.

 

Killian loved Hope and that was clear to her, to anyone who saw them. But the fact that he loved her so much to create magic, that shook her to her core. She felt a warmth spreading inside her and she didn’t know if the light of the spell had reached her heart or something entirely different did. 

 

Killian loved their daughter so deeply. Hope would grow up loved. She’d never be like her. She’d never be alone. She’d always have someone who loved her in the purest of ways. Someone who’d do anything for her. Even if she screwed up as a mother to her, even if she was never good enough, as she feared, her daughter would always have arms to run to, arms who’d catch her. 

 

“Does that mean he can true-love-kiss her back?” Mary-Margaret asked and Regina shook her head. 

 

“I doubt what brought her here is a curse. Also, haven’t the pirate kissed her, already?”

 

“Aye.” Killian said, giving another small kiss to Hope’s head to prove his point. No one was surprised when nothing happened. 

 

“There you have it.” Regina motioned between the two of them. “No curse.” 

 

David gave a frustrated sigh. “How did it happen? When?”

 

“We still don’t know what brought her here, dad.”

 

“I don’t mean Hope coming here, I mean you and Hook...god damn it. I can’t even say it.” He shook his head. “When do you think you...?”

 

This was probably the most awkward conversation she ever had with her parents, and she used to talk about Mary-Margaret’s sex life with David. That was before she knew they were her parents, but still. 

 

“We don’t know that, mate.”

 

“I didn’t ask you,  _mate_ .”

 

“Dad, Killian is just stating the obvious. We have no idea. Most probably close to the time we come back to Storybrooke.” It was what they were both guessing. They definitely wouldn’t do anything in Neverland, not with Henry in danger. She could cross that out. 

 

David grimaced at that and Mary-Margaret patted him gently in the arm. “We’re going to have a granddaughter, David. And she’s adorable. And she’s loved and happy. Despite what you’re thinking now, you know future us are going to be delighted with another grandchild to dote on.”

 

“I still would very much like to punch him.”He replied, glaring at Killian. Neal chuckled at that and he immediately turned to him. “And you too.” He pointed at him. “Don’t think I didn’t hear what Hook said about you leaving Emma in jail.” 

 

Emma knew from the first moment her parents would like the idea of another grandchild. Maybe not so much the conception of one, but surely her existence. 

 

She wondered though, how  she took the news. Or  _would_ take  the news. She reminded herself it hadn’t happened yet.

 

How did she find out? How did she tell Killian? Did she tell him right away? Probably yes. What did he say?Was she scared? Was he? Was it a one night stand that brought her or they were sleeping with each other regularly?

 

Did she ever think she wouldn’t keep her? Probably not. With a steady job out of the jail bars other than locked inside of them, home and stability she highly doubted that was an option she considered. Did she want her? Perhaps not from the start but from some point on she did have to want her. Love her. 

 

She wondered, what would happen now if they got Hope back to the future, but their memories remained. What if they remembered her, remembered one day they’ll have a baby girl named Hope? What if that fact alone changed the future so she’d never happen? That would be horrible for Hope’s mum -or future her to be precise- and Killian. Your child being deleted from existence just like that. 

 

But then again she didn’t know what to do to ensure her existence if they did have memories of her. Have unprotected sex on purpose when they came back so they’d have her? What if the conception just wasn’t at the right time? What if they ended up with a different baby and Hope was again deleted from existence? It was terrifying to think about. Truthfully, it was terrifying to think about having a baby so soon as well, but the thought of her being the reason Hope gets erased from the universe is equally horrible, if not worse. 

 

She would lie if she said the thought hadn’t passed her mind for a second. If that baby was unplanned, if neither of them wanted to have it, maybe if they kept their memories they could just...stay away from each other. That would most probably prohibit her future conception. It was selfish but... Killian wouldn’t have to be tied up to her or Storybrooke, she wouldn’t have to be a mother all over again when she was barely figuring out how to be the mother Henry deserved. 

 

For a few dreadful seconds, she had considered it but she realized she didn’t want it, she didn’t want to change anything. She knew it would have no consequences, but looking at Hope’s eyes, her smile, how happy she was, how much she liked cuddles, how she clung to her like she trusted her with her life...She wouldn’t. Hope had parents who would love her, who already did in another part of time, and grandparents and a brother and a place in the world already. 

 

She was Killian’s true love. That was still hard to fathom. But it was another reason she so desperately needed for her to stay. She wouldn’t take that away from them, that would be cruel. If she was her mom in the future it meant that she had already chosen to keep her, to raise her. It wasn’t fair to delete that choice and take her away from a mother who loved her.

 

She didn’t know how it would work if their memories remained.  _Let’s have sex so we can conceive the future daughter we somehow met in the past and hope we end up with the right baby,_ didn’t sound like a barely good enough pick up line to get laid. 

 

They needed a memory spell, a memory spell for sure. 

 

“Emma, I think she wants you, lass.” Killian said softly, breaking her out of her thoughts. Hope was stretching her arms towards her and Killian eased her into her lap. She was getting better at that. Physically it was never a huge struggle to hold her, but the emotional burden of it was slightly getting lighter. Her talk with Killian, and the fact that their secret was finally out in the open filled her with a sense of peace. 

 

As he drew his hand back, his fingers brushed slightly over hers, just for a tiny moment, making her skin tingle and her breath catch. He didn’t say a single word but she still heard it, clear as day:

 

_It is going to be okay._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading! I appreciate it more than I can say. I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Feel free to tell me your thoughts in the comments :)

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you liked where the first chapter is going :) I'd love to know what you think!


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